Family: FAGACEAE
There are about 600 species of oaks, native to Europe, Asia and North America. Some are evergreen, but most are deciduous, usually large, long lived trees (500 - 700 years), but occasion-ally shrubs, and extending from cold temperate to tropical regions.
They all have seeds in the form of acorns but vary widely in size, shape and palatability to stock and humans. Acorns of the white oak group generally contain less tannin than the black oaks and are therefore more palatable. Acorns for propagation should never dry out.
Generally, oaks have low combustibility and can be incorporated into system designs as fire barriers.