The White Oak (Quercus alba) is one of the preeminentΒ hardwoodsΒ of eastern and central North America. It is a long-livedΒ oak, native to eastern and centralΒ North AmericaΒ and found fromΒ Minnesota,Β Ontario,Β Quebec, and southernΒ MaineΒ south as far as northernΒ FloridaΒ and easternΒ Texas.Β Specimens have been documented to be over 450 years old. Although called a white oak, it is very unusual to find an individual specimen with white bark; the usual color is light grey. The name comes from the color of the finished wood. In the forest, it can reach a magnificent height and in the open, it develops into a massive broad-topped tree with large branches striking out at wide angles.
Quercus albaΒ is fairly tolerant of a variety of habitats and may be found on ridges, in valleys, and in between, in dry and moist habitats, and in moderately acid and alkaline soils. It is mainly a lowland tree but reaches altitudes of 1,600Β m (5,249Β ft) in theΒ Appalachian Mountains. It is often a component of the forest canopy in anΒ oak-heath forest. Frequent fires in the Central Plains region of the United States prevented oak forests, including White Oak, from expanding into the Midwest. However, a decrease in the frequency of these natural fires after European settlement caused rapid expansion of oak forests into the Great Plains, negatively affecting the natural prairie vegetation.
Resource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_alba