Black Oak Tree
The Black Oak Tree is relatively fast-growing and one of the most common giants that is found on dry upland sites. The Black Oak, Quercus velutina, has huge green leaves with a green velvety underside. The bark of the Black Oak Tree remains smooth and dark brown for many years, and the Black Oak gets it's name "Black Oak" because the deeply grooved bark when mature can become soot black, however, the interior bark glows as a yellow-gold color; hence an alternate name, "Yellow Oak Tree."

The acorns from the Black Oak Tree are not preferred by wildlife, but the young stems and twigs are eaten by deer. The inner yellow bark of the Black Oak Tree is extracted commercially to form a yellow dye. From a distance the Black Oak Tree looks similar to the Red Oak Tree, and the wood is sold as Red Oak. Wildlife animals that feed on the Black Oak are turkey, White Tail Deer, and squirrels, and the acorns are brown and ripen in late summer for feeding game bird and wildlife animals when wildlife food is scarce in the Fall and Winter. The Black Oak tree is distributed throughout the eastern United States, north to MI and ME and south to Florida and West to Texas. The native Black Oak tree is adapted to poor soils.