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| A 35 year old Cow Oak tree (about 25' tall) growing without the wet, silty, alluvial soil it prefers here, is dwarfed by the well drained compacted soil of the Long Leaf Pine ridge. Both Oak and pine are leaned due west after rain saturated ground and 140mph winds of Hurricane Rita in 2005. |
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| Cow Oak trunk/limb habit. |
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| Cow Oak spring leaves. |
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| Cow Oak bark/trunk |
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| Cow Oak acorns. |
The Cow Oak, sometimes called Swamp Chestnut (Beech family) is a deciduous bottom land hardwood tree in the white oak family of oaks native to the Southeastern U.S. Here in Southern Louisiana, U.S. it grows to 80' naturally from 5' to 15' above sea level in or near bottom lands, flood plains, along bayous, creeks, rivers, and marshes. Its straight grained, white, easy to split in long length wood has been preferred by old timers for basket weaving and hoop net hoops. My granfather told me white Oak hoops fish better than plastic, fiberglass, or steel.
Cow Oak is seldom seen in housing developments or public municipal plantings probably because of its massive mature stature and very big leaves that are blown around by the winter and spring winds, sooner or later bound to end up under a porch or garage. So it's not a good tree for small yards.
But if you have the room, it is a tree worth having because of its well rounded shape, beautiful light green colored leaves in spring, and its huge crop of fall fruit (acorns) that attract and sustain hungry squirrels, deer, and cows through the winter months, although oak trees do contain toxins that can kill livestock. I keep a few young bulls in a woodland pasture with lots of all kinds of oaks including Cow Oaks 80' tall. Cattle like both leaves and acorns, but do show signs of colic, especially from the first acorns that fall to the ground. Cattle seem to get used to them after a while, as if they develop a resistance to the toxin.
It's a good tree to have if you have a few acres. Do the Earth a favor and plant a Cow Oak. I planted these trees from acorns I picked up in the woods while hunting 35-40 years ago.
I poked a hole in a tin can and pressed the acorns in the soil about half way, kept them watered, set them in a shaded window for the winter and watched them swell and split revealing the sprout emerging though the two halves to grow into several pretty specimens. One can not see a tree, until he plants it as a young man from a seed, and remembers all the seasons. It just isn't possible. His understanding is made according to his observation of the tree which has grown him.
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| Hardening, dark green, leathery, early May leaves. |
