Oak, Shingle

This tree is known as the Shingle Oak or the Quercus imbricicaria, named for its use in making cabin shingles by early settlers of the midwest. They can live up to 200 years and are quite symmetrical in form. The leaves of the Shingle Oak are dark green and leathery with a slightly hairy texture and they persist on the tree throughout the winter, even after dying. These trees provide great nesting spots for songbirds and their acorns, small, striped, and dark brown, are beloved by woodpeckers and other birds. Mature bark of the Shingle Oak resembles that of the Pin Oak, flat and grayish brown, developing broad ridges with age.