User:Tfanzo/sandbox

Growth and Yield:

A mature scarlet oak grows to be around 18-24 feet where the max height is approximately 30 meters. It's a medium size tree which grows fast and matures relatively early. Economic maturity ranges from 20-30 meters in height, depending on location and environmental factors.

The scarlet oak typically grows to about 50-70 feet in height while remaining 40-50 feet in width, they need full exposure to sunlight for best growth. Soil is preferred to be dry to medium, well acidic drained soil. Flower color is yellow to green depending on season.

The scarlet oak sets a deep growing taproot that makes successful transplanting almost impossible. Planting a larger tree means it will need a lot of healing before it is ready to continue growing. Fertilizer is unnecessary to growing.

Medicinal Uses:

Quercus coccinea produces galls which can be used to treat hemorrhages, chronic diarrhea and dysentery.

Wildlife Value:

This tree acts as a shelter to animals such as birds and squirrels, but it is also a temporary home to moth larvae throughout the months of the year. It also provides food in the form of acorns to many animals such as woodpeckers, blue jays, small mammals, wild turkey, white-tailed deer, and black bear. Many species of wildlife look towards the Q. coccinea for shelter such as smaller to medium sized birds, as well as small mammals.

Habitat and Distribution:

Quercus coccinea is distributed from Maine to New York. Including Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, southern Illinois, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, as well as the Carolinas and Virginia. It is also found in the Appalachian Mountains. These trees are mostly found in central/eastern dry upland forests of the USA.

Red oak is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Uses and Values:

Scarlet oak has an excellent red color during the fall months and is typically grown for shade and ornamental purposes. The red oak is a popular selection for lumber and is commonly as flooring material.

Scarlet oak wood has a light to medium color consisting of reds and browns. The scarlet oak has a fairly course texture with pores falling on the bigger side size wise. The durability of scarlet oak is less than the white oak which has a lower level of decay and rot resistance. Scarlet oak lumber is easy to glue and looks very good after staining and finishing. Has a distinct appealing smell common with most oaks.

Oak has been classified as a sensitizer although it doesn't cause many allergic reactions. Reactions include eye and skin irritations along with asthma like symptoms, but not too severe.

White oak is typically more expensive than scarlet oak; red oak is in good supply with good pricing which makes it a very popular piece of lumber throughout the 50 states.

Red oak is commonly used in furniture, cabinetry, interior trim, flooring, and veneer. Scarlet oak shares many characteristics with red oak and often falls in the same category as red oak (Quercus rubra)

Forestry:

April and May are flowering months for the Scarlet oak, details like elevation and weather do play a big role in the flowering process during this time although its such a short time period. It takes about two seasons for the acorns to mature, following the maturation, they drop providing food and seeding to animals and the soil. Scarlet oak is very prominent with other species of trees such as white oak, black oak and northern red oak. When at a lower elevation surrounding the Appalachian Mountains, it is a common component of pine forests and heaths.

Oak seeds are faster growing seeds than other trees and can compete very successfully. To regenerate the population, the tree must be 4-5 feet long before removing the over-story. Nonoak stems in the understory exceeding 4 feet should be killed. The quality of the environment affects the regeneration and will have a better % rate of oak densities years after clearcutting than an environment with poor resources.

Seed production starts when the tree is at about 20 years old, seed production maxes out at around 50 years of age. The seed production is different every time with a good group of offspring generating every 3-5 years depending on environment and resources.

Wildlife Threats:

Picture of a grown Quercus coccinea tree.

Cryphonectria parasitic has been known to infect the scarlet oak trees mainly in Pennsylvania. Cankers were found on many of these trees due to this parasite during 1989 and 1990, the parasite was removed from 69.7% of infected areas and recovered from 67% of incidents. Gypsy moths are known to defoliate a scarlet oak which if successful, can kill the tree. Other defoliation g insects capable of killing the tree include oak leafier (Crosia semipurpurana), fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria), forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria), and walking stick (Diapheromera femoral).

A few species of insects bore into the scarlet oak bark and trunk, these species include towline chestnut borer (Agrilus bilineatus), red oak borer (Enaphalodes ruffles), oak timber worm (Arrhenodes minutes), Ambrosia beetles (Platypus spa. and Xyleborus spa.), and the larvae of carpenter worms (Prionoxystus app.).

Galls are commonly found on smaller twigs and limbs due to the gall wasp (Callirhytis quercuepuntata). The oak-apple gall wasp (Amphibolips confluenta) causes gall growth on leaves and petioles. Black carpenter ants (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) are known for nesting in the trees as well.

The 'oak decline' can be caused by drought, moth defoliation, age, fire, environmental causes, and other factors. From1968 to 1972, 27% of scarlet oak population in Newark Watershed in New Jersey died from the gypsy moth defoliation which came before towline chestnut borer and shoestring root rot attack.