51 Fascinating Oak Tree Facts That Are More Than Oak-ay

The oak tree plant is one of the most iconic trees in the world, and there are 500 different species of oaks out there - that's a lot of acorn trees!

There's so many species of oak trees to talk about, including northern red oak tree facts, bur oak tree facts, white oak tree facts and all you need to know about oak tree bark and the fruit of oak trees. If you've ever wondered what the oak trees meaning is in the United States, or how the oak tree blooms, these facts will give you all the answers about this strong and powerful species of tree.

After reading this you will be able to impress your parents with the words Genus quercus (that is the scientific name for oak tree) and tell people all about why they are one of the oldest species of trees.

If you just can't get enough of learning about trees, then these pecan tree facts and facts about sweet gum trees will give you all the tree facts you are looking for.

Learn about oak trees lifespan and life cycle and get to know one of the planet's longest living plants.

1. An oak tree lifespan can be up to 1,000 years.

2. In its lifetime an oak tree goes through many changes.

3. Each oak tree begins its life as an acorn.

4. An acorn only contains one seed, unlike other seed pods where there are lots of seeds inside.

5. When it becomes spring, the acorn will grow a shoot which sprouts through the ground to make the baby oak tree.

6. The shoot will push through any fallen leaves on the ground, and grow its first few leaves that can see the sun.

7. The sun will start the process of photosynthesis once a shoot forms, and the oak tree will become a seedling.

8. Most oak trees will not be able to produce acorns properly until they get to about 50 years old.

9. After it gets to around 700 years old, an oak tree will reach its old age.

10. In their old age oak trees grow slowly and do not produce as many acorns as they once did.

11. At the ripe old age of 1,000 years old, oak trees are near to the end of their life.

12. The oak tree will start to die part by part after this age.

13. In a lifetime an oak tree can produce 10 million acorns.

14. Some acorns will rot and not become trees, but many of the acorns will grow into new oak trees.

Learn about the different sizes of this popular and impressive tree. We'll give you a hint, they are pretty big!

15. An oak tree height can vary depending on its age.

16. Oak tree forests that are a few hundred years old can be up to 45 metres tall (or 148 feet).

17. The width of the spread of an oak tree can be up to 45 metres in the biggest and oldest trees, which will be similar to its height.

There are 600 different types of oak tree, which all have slightly different characteristics. These main ones will help you to identify most oaks.

18. You can tell an oak tree from other trees because it has round-lobed leaves that have a wobbly outer look.

19. The leaves of all varieties of oak trees have short stalks.

20. Oak tree leaves are arranged in spirals.

21. Oak tree flowers are called catkins.

22. The oak tree fruit is called an acorn.

23. The oak fruit is not a fruit, but is actually a nut.

24. The oak flower is yellow or white in color.

Learn some special facts about this special tree. Let us tell you, they've been used for some pretty exciting things in their time.

25. The ink from oak trees is called oak gall ink.

26. Oak gall ink was used to create some of the most important documents in history, like the Magna Carta, Mozart's music and Newton's theories.

27.  The oak tree also has many medical uses: the leaves, acorns and bark of the tree can be used to heal inflammation, kidney stones and diarrhoea.

28. Oak trees feed lots of different living creatures with their acorns and oak leaves.

29. Oak trees are one of the most widely spread and oldest trees on the entire planet.

30. Oak wood was used to build the homes of our earliest ancestors.

31. They also used oak wood to make ships and create tools.

32. We use oak trees often to make furniture and floors, and even wine barrels and cosmetic creams are made using oak wood.

33. The oak tree is estimated to have been on the planet for around 65 million years.

34. The oak is the national tree of the United States. It was voted the US national tree in 2004.

If you're on the lookout, these big beautiful trees are hard to miss. Especially in the fall, when their acorns are pretty unmissable.

35. Oak trees have taken over the forests of the northern hemisphere over thousands of years, because they are tough and their acorns are strong.

36. The habitat of an oak tree is either woodland or sometimes towns and gardens.

37. One of the most famous oak trees you can find is in the Sherwood Forest in England, which is over 800 years old.

38. One of the oldest oak trees in the United States is 2,624 years old.

39. It is the oldest known living tree in the east of North America.

40. The oak tree in the Sherwood Forest is believed to be located where Robin Hood was outlawed during the tale set in the 12th century.

41. Oak in India is found in the Himalayan regions, there are 16 different species of oaks there.

There are many different species of oaks found in the Northern hemisphere and around the world. We've got some of our favorite species facts for you here.

42. The leaves of the northern red oak are a unique bright red color.

43. White oak trees have leaves that are white on the underside.

44. The bur oak tree is also known as the mossy-cup oak.

Learn about a squirrel's favourite snack with these fun facts.

45. One of the main reasons that oak trees have survived for so long is that their seeds (the fruit of the oak) are in very hard shells.

46. Acorns are also coated with tannic acid. This stops any insects or fungi from hurting them.

We could go on for days about Oak trees! We'll leave you with these fun facts, including facts about the male flowers and female flowers of oak trees.

47. The oak tree meaning in many cultures is resistance, knowledge, strength and morale.

48. The oak scientific name comes from the Latin words for "oak," and "strength."

49. The male flowers of the oak plant are on catkins that hang low from the oak tree branches.

50. The female flowers of the oak tree are red and small and on short stalks.

51. The oak tree blossoms in spring.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our oak tree facts, then check out these facts about spring, or these facts about flowers.