The Post Oak

A dessicated Post Oak (Quercus stellata) leaf, alone on a shale bluff.

The Post Oak (Quercus stellata) is a sturdy oak that grows in the drier, open karstlands of Appalachia, where I've found them following patterns of river valleys and glades in the landscape, although their fame stems from a role in the surrounding open country of the Piedmont and western prairies. Typically restricted to the warm, fertile habitats in the coves and "hollers" of the region, especially around open grasslands and savannahs, post oaks are an anomaly amongst most local oaks. Compared to many similar species, they’re also much more resistant to wildfires, drought, rot, and a whole bunch of insect pathogens. Why is this important?

A post oak both resides in and helps create an ecosystem entirely different than that of other oaks. Their evolutionary resilience reinforces a unique niche, which gives them a unique role in human culture. The resulting tough, contorted wood was used by the early Cherokee to make durable tool handles, structural supports, firewood, and later to make railroad timbers and fence posts, a skill shared with European settlers later. In fact, certain groups of prairie-bound people (like the Kiowa tribe and ragged wagon train families) really came to rely on the post oak's presence in vast grasslands otherwise devoid of construction-grade tree trunks. In fact, post oaks are some of the Midwest's most utilitarian trees, both ecologically and anthropologically.

The tannin-rich bark of an old post oak in the warm Upper Tennessee River watershed, nourished by nutrients trickling down from the highland peaks of the Southern Appalachians.

Several tribes harvested the bark as well, leaching dark, astringent tannic acid to use as an antiseptic, antidiarrheal, and the resulting fiber was used for basketry and furniture. The tannic acid slurry can also smoothly treat buckskin and other hides, often detaching most of the hair or fur as the skin loosens. Called a "bark tan," hides soaked and tanned in this solution made resilient, brown-stained clothes, made extremely malleable and comfortable through the process. Along with brain-tanning, this was a standby for longhunters and frontier families who needed textiles from hides quickly. Even the leathery leaves of post oaks were frequently harvested to roll sturdy cigarettes, and as a "wax paper substitute" for baking.

Since they are a type of white oak (Subgenus Leucobalanus), lacking sharp bristle-tips on each lobe of the leaf, the Post Oak has some interesting life history attributes. Many white oaks at least prefer some kind of richer habitat; especially compared to tough red oaks like blackjack (Q. marilandica) and scarlet (Q. coccinea) oaks with equally resilient wood and habitats ranging from veritable deserts to wind-whipped mountaintops. However, the nutrient-rich post oak acorns are gobbled up almost as soon as they hit the ground by wildlife, an attribute unique to white oaks. A red oak acorn might lay on the ground for most of the winter, until half-starved animals must eat the harder, bitter mast of these less-desirable species. Fox squirrels, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, wild mice, and blue jays are among the most prominent snatchers of post oak acorns. But, these same acorns can also be made into an edible flour for humans! Many pancakes, "breads," and hoecakes have been made from post oak acorns pulled from open forests as warriors, longhunters, and a steady stream of other cultures passed through the bison trails (now called the U.S. Interstate Highway System) of the Great Valley a few hundred years ago, and west through the Cumberland Gap into the other side of the country.

Post Oak leaf variation.

The post oak's species name “stellata” means “star” in Latin, and the leaves can be identified by their ornate star or cross-like shape, glossy surface, and silky underside. A true post oak leaf often feels crisp, rigid, and makes rustling noises whenever the wind blows, or when stepped on in the winter forest. In my opinion, they’re one of the prettiest oaks you can find in the country, and right now their senescent leaves, lichen-covered bark, and acorn husks are prominently strewn all across the forest floor. One of the best times to identify oaks is in the middle of the winter, as the fallen foliage is everywhere in a concentric ring around the trunk of each species. A vagrant leaf is usually fairly easy to trace; especially in a fencerow or open woodland.

A tree like the post oak might seem somewhat obsolete today, as all of its uses have some kind of synthetic alternative. However, I see it as a starting point. A giving tree, that continues to share its wealth freely even though humans largely disrespect it as a society. As grasslands and open forests succumb to development and the encroachment of unrestrained invasive-exotic species, it might be too late when we start to miss the post oak. It's vital that habitat remains intact for species like the post oak to flourish and repopulate other long-neglected areas, restoring the kind of ecological balance our planet desperately needs.