Quercus muehlenbergii, the chinquapin (or chinkapin) oak, is a deciduous species of tree in the white oak group (Quercus sect. Quercus). The species was often called Quercus acuminata in older literature. Quercus muehlenbergii (often misspelled as muhlenbergii) is native to eastern and central North America. It ranges from Vermont to Minnesota, south to the Florida panhandle, and west to New Mexico in the United States. In Canada it is only found in southern Ontario, and in Mexico it ranges from Coahuila south to Hidalgo.
- Leaf base is typically rounded
The low-growing, cloning Q. prinoides (dwarf chinquapin oak) is similar to Q. muehlenbergii and has been confused with it in the past, but is now generally accepted as a distinct species. If the two are considered to be conspecific, the earlier-published name Quercus prinoides has priority over Q. muehlenbergii, and the larger chinquapin oak can then be classified as Quercus prinoides var. acuminata, with the dwarf chinquapin oak being Quercus prinoides var. prinoides. Q. prinoides was named and described by the German botanist Karl (Carl) Ludwig Willdenow in 1801, in a German journal article by Muhlenberg.
Associated cover
It is rarely a predominant tree, but it grows in association with many other species. It is a component of the forest cover type white oak-Black Oak-Northern Red Oak (Society of American Foresters Type 52) and the Post Oak-Blackjack Oak (Type 40) (2).
It grows in association with white oak (Quercus alba), black oak (Q. velutina), northern red oak (Q. rubra), scarlet oak (Q. coccinea), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), red maple (A. rubrum), hickories (Carya spp.), black cherry (Prunus serotina), cucumbertree (Magnolia acuminata), white ash (Fraxinus americana), American basswood (Tilia americana), black walnut (Juglans nigra), butternut (J. cinerea), and yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). American beech (Fagus grandifolia), shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), pitch pine (P. rigida), Virginia pine (P. virginiana), Ozark chinquapin (Castanea ozarkensis), eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), bluejack oak (Quercus incana), southern red oak (Q. falcata), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), and winged elm (Ulmus alata) also grow in association with chinquapin oak. In the Missouri Ozarks a redcedar-chinquapin oak association has been described.
The most common small tree and shrub species found in association with chinquapin oak include flowering dogwood (Cornus ), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), Vaccinium spp., Viburnum spp., hawthorns (Crataegus spp.), and sumacs (Rhus spp.). The most common woody vines are wild grape (Vitis spp.) and greenbrier (Smilax spp.).
Reaction to competition
Chinquapin oak is classified as intolerant of shade. It withstands moderate shading when young but becomes more intolerant of shade with age. It is regarded as a climax species on dry, drought prone soils, especially those of limestone origin. On more moist sites it is subclimax to climax. It is often found as a component of the climax vegetation in stands on mesic sites with limestone soils. However, many oak-hickory stands on moist sites that contain chinquapin oak are succeeded by a climax forest including beech, maple, and ash.
Diseases and pests
Severe wildfire kills chinquapin oak saplings and small pole-size trees, but these often resprout. However, fire scars serve as entry points for decay-causing fungi, and the resulting decay can cause serious losses.
Oak wilt (Bretziella fagacearum), a vascular disease, attacks chinquapin oak and usually kills the tree within two to four years. Other diseases that attack chinquapin oak include the cankers Strumella coryneoidea and Nectria galligena, shoestring root rot (Armillarea mellea), anthracnose (Gnomonia veneta), and leaf blister (Taphrina spp.).
The most serious defoliating insects that attack chinquapin oak are the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar), the orangestriped oakworm (Anisota senatoria), and the variable oakleaf caterpillar (Heterocampa manteo). Insects that bore into the bole and seriously degrade the products cut from infested trees include the carpenterworm (Prionoyxstus robiniae), little carpenterworm (P. macmurtrei), white oak borer (Goes tigrinus), Columbian timber beetle (Corthylus columbianus), oak timberworm (Arrhenodes minutus), and twolined chestnut borer (Agrilus bilineatus). The acorn weevils (Curculio spp.), larvae of moths (Valentinia glandulella and Melissopus latiferreanus), and gall forming cynipids (Callirhytis spp.) feed on the acorns.
Uses
thumb|Mature tree
Like that of other white oak species, the wood of the chinquapin oak is a durable hardwood prized for many types of construction.
The chinquapin oak is especially known for its sweet and palatable acorns. The nuts contained inside of the thin shell are among the sweetest of any oak, with an excellent taste even when eaten raw, providing an excellent source of food for both wildlife and people. The acorns are eaten by squirrels, mice, voles, chipmunks, deer, turkey, and other birds.