Pin Oak
The native pin oak is a hardy species and thus well suited for life in an urban park. Pin oaks are outnumbered in Central Park only by the black cherry. Pin oaks provide dense shade with lower branches that hang downward. Many magnificent stands of pin oaks throughout the Park provide plenty of shade, fall color, and food for squirrels. You can find pin oaks lining Central Park West, around the East Meadow and the Dairy.
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Leaves
3-6 inches, alternate arrangement, five to seven sharply pointed lobes, fine textured -
Fruit
0.66 inch acorns, twelve years to mature -
Flower
Pale, yellow-green catkins (male); monoecious (male and female organs); bloom in May -
Bark
Stems greenish brown, smooth bark on medium-sized branches, main trunk with shallow ridges and furrows, look like ski slopes
