Ontario's Eleven: One Man's View

Tom Atkinson

Published May 2015 in International Oaks No. 26: 57–64.

Abstract

Ontario boasts eleven species of oak, far more than any other province in Canada. The only indigenous oak in Canada that is not present there is Quercus garryana Douglas ex Hook. The recent past has been marked by great forest destruction so what may have been a plentiful species in 1800 is, in too many instances, either very rare or even extirpated today. The author reviews the distribution and ecological needs of Ontario’s eleven oaks in the context of his personal experience with each of them.

Keywords

Quercus alba, Q. ellipsoidalis, Q. rubra, Q. palustris, Q. macrocarpa, Q. prinoides, Q. muehlenbergii, Q. ilicifolia, Q. shumardii, Q. velutina, Q. bicolor

Further reading

Day, David D. Catalogue of the Niagara Flora. Troy: The Troy Press Company. 1888.

Farrar, John L. Trees in Canada. Ontario: Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 1995.

Sternberg, Guy. Native Trees for North American Landscapes. Oregon: Timber Press. 2004.