VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Quercus phellos | Willow Oak 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Willow oak is an important source of lumber and pulp.  It has good pulp
characteristics and can be harvested when quite young [30].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
The consistent and abundant acorn crops of willow oak are an important
food source for wildlife including waterfowl, wild turkey, blue jays,
red-headed and red-bellied woodpeckers, flickers, grackles, white-tailed
deer, fox and gray squirrels, and other small rodents [7,30,34].  It
produces a large acorn crop almost every year.  Acorns of the black oak
group are an especially important food source in the winter because
those of the white oak group germinate soon after falling and,
therefore, are unavailable [32].


PALATABILITY : 
Among 12 southeastern oak species, willow oak acorns ranked fifth in
preference to the fox squirrel [27].  In another study [32], fox
squirrels did not readily eat willow oak acorns, presumably because of
their high tannin content.

Willow oak is considered good browse for white-tailed deer [33].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Willow oak acorns have 5.9 percent total protein and 19.6 percent crude
fat [2].  They are low in phosphorus [2,32,33].


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Willow oak is used for restoration of the wetter sites of bottomland
hardwood forests and for rehabilitation of disturbed areas.  It is also
a good species to plant along margins of fluctuating-level reservoirs
[30].  Willow oak seedlings planted on canal-excavated material along
the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway had high survival (greater than 50
percent) and a mean height growth of 87.2 inches (221.5 cm) in 5 years
[12].  Acorn collection, storage, and treatment methods are detailed
[2,26].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
This species is used widely as a shade tree and ornamental.  It
transplants easily [30].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Willow oak is a preferred timber and wildlife species.  It has been
managed for pulp in plantations.  Intensive control of competition is
thought to be necessary for willow oak regeneration because of
relatively slow early growth [16], but a recent study [41] showed that
control with a broad spectrum herbicide prior to direct seeding did not
improve survival or height growth of willow oak.  In the same study, a
fertilizer tablet placed near the seed of the direct-seeded willow oak
also did not improve survival or growth.  General costs and
recommendations for direct seeding of oaks are detailed [3].

Hardwood competition in pine plantations is often controlled by
herbicide.  Spring applications of Velpar L work well on willow oak, as
do late summer applications of Roundup [31].

Trunk borers, including red oak borer (Enaphalodes rufulus),
carpenterworm (Prionoxystus robiniae), and living-beech borer (Goes
pulverulentus), are serious insect pests of willow oak that degrade
sawlog quality.  Weevils (Curculio spp.) attack acorns.  A common butt
rot canker caused by the fungus Polyporus hispidus spreads 4 to 6 inches
(10-15 cm) per year.  Infected trees should be removed to salvage the
wood and prevent infection of other trees [30].

Willow oak is susceptible to acid rain.  Leaves show yellow or brown
necrotic zones when exposed to simulated rain less than 3.2 pH [30].

In order to provide habitat and food for wintering waterfowl, bottomland
forests, composed of willow oak and other water-tolerant, mast-producing
species, are often impounded during the winter.  The shallow water is
drawn down in the early spring to prevent tree damage [24].

Related categories for Species: Quercus phellos | Willow Oak