• North End
• The Reservoir
• Great Lawn
• South End
• Map & Guide
• Tree Database

• Home
• Contact Us
• Site Map

Shingle Oak Scientific Name: Quercus imbricaria Common Name: Shingle Oak Division: Magnoliophyta Family: Fagaceae Genus: Quercus GENERAL DESCRIPTION Shingle oak is native to a much more limited area then either pin or red oak.  It ranges from the Mississippi to South Jersey, growing on moist sites or adjacent to streams.  Not a common tree in Central Park. Common and scientific names derived from the fact that its wood was once used to make shingles because it could be split so easily.  The Single oak has a tendency to hold on to its leaves long into the winter, adding nice warm brown tones to the gray winter landscape. Shingle Oak tree behind the handball courts at North Meadow

Flower   Male and female flowers grow on the same tree.  Male flowers borne on slender catkins, female on short spikes and appearing with the leaves in spring. Fruit Acorn is 5/8 inch long, 1/3 - 1/2 covered by thin, bowl-shaped cap with reddish-brown scales.  Matures in fall. Leaf   Simple alternate, oblong, serrated margin 3 to 6 inches long.  Leathery dark green on top, paler underneath. Bark   Grayish-brown with broad, irregular ridges and very shallow furrows.    Form:  Medium-sized, up to 70 feet.  Mature trees have an open canopy and massive wide-spreading branches; younger trees have a dense canopy. LOCATIONS IN CENTRAL PARK  Best specimen: southwest of Conservatory Water at Pilgrim Hill tree is estimated to be 150 years old.  Behind Pat Hoffman Friedman Playground, inside the Park at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue  East of sand volleyball court on the east side of Sheep Meadow at 67th Street Photo Credit: Steve Baskauf, bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/ Matthew Brown, Central Park Conservancy Neil Calvanese, Central Park Conservancy