Index / Search / Quercus macrocarpa

§1 Plant — species · Fagaceae

Quercus macrocarpa Michx.

vernacular bur oak


USDA
QUMA2
GBIF
2878213
Rank
species
bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
Platephotograph · rayrobCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub, Tree
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Fagaceae Dumort.
Genus
Quercus
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
High
Shade
Medium
Moisture use
Medium
Fire
High
Salinity
Low
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Medium
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-38 °F minimum
Frost-free days
100 min.
Precipitation
15–50 in/yr
pH range
4.5–7.5
Root depth
28 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse, medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Stem
Growth rate
Slow
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
100 ft
Height @ 20 y
25 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Yellow
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Mid Spring
Seed abundance
Low
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
75
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
Medium
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
Yes
Fuelwood
High
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 3 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/QUMA2 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2878213 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z