NTCC's Signature Tree

Why We Love The Bur Oak 

You may have spotted a particularly majestic oak tree in parks, yards and woods across Middle Tennessee. This beautiful, durable tree with its spreading canopy and shiny, dark green leaves is the bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa). Due to the bur oak’s hardy character and ecological value, we love planting these trees wherever we can! In fact, we like to think of the bur oak as the Tree Corps’ signature tree.

Around Nashville, bur oaks are among the largest and longest-lived trees. They are stout and durable, providing dense shade and soil stability. Michael Davie, certified arborist and NTCC board member, tells us, “They’re happy trees in general, and they thrive in our environment.” 

The bur oak grows in the eastern U.S. from Texas to Canada. It’s a tree made for endurance: it’s drought tolerant and heat tolerant, and is comfortable in a range of soil types. “They do especially well in Nashville; it’s a bit of a sweet spot for them,” Davie explains. “Oaks tend to like acidic soils, but bur oaks are tolerant of alkaline soils as well. They’re most common in the Nashville Basin area, where there’s lots of limestone.” The phosphorus in limestone raises the pH level of the soil, making it less acidic.

Our friendly neighborhood tree

Bur oaks of all ages and sizes can be found around Nashville. They’re strong enough to withstand storms and can live to be 300 or 400 years old. Davie remembers some of the biggest ones he has seen around town: “Belle Meade Country Club has lots of bur oaks, with some really big ones. A tree that was recently removed used to be the largest in the city — a bur oak at least 300 years old. When it was cut down, I looked at the rings of one of the branches. It had around 240 of them on a branch that was pretty high.” 

A large bur oak at Belle Meade Country Club before it was removed due to damage from construction.

Another large bur oak he remembers having to take down was located in Hendersonville, when a road installation damaged the root system. The tree had an 8-foot diameter! It’s an important reminder that wide trees also have wide roots.

Vanderbilt's Bicentennial Bur Oak in early spring.

The oldest and best-known tree on the Vanderbilt University campus is a bur oak known as the Bicentennial Oak. This ancient tree with a canopy spread of 98 feet predated the campus and is recognized as being more than 200 years old.

Bur Oaks in Nashville’s Canopy

Bur oaks are tough, but they’re better as a park tree or in a large yard, rather than one to line streets with. Bur oaks reach 50 to 80 feet tall, and Davie’s most important advice for planting one is to “make sure it has lots of space to grow.” These trees get to be as wide as they are tall, so be sure they aren’t planted too close to a house or other structure.

Their wide roots need space to spread out, and they drop lots of acorns that can become an issue over sidewalks and driveways. The fringed acorns of the bur oak tree are the largest type of acorn, and are an important food source for wildlife.

The bur oak has the largest acorn of any oak.

Native trees are parts of the local ecosystem that evolves with them, and the bur oak plays an important ecological role in Nashville. Bur oak acorns feed squirrels, deer and bears, while many different kinds of moths and butterflies develop on its leaves. The tree also serves as habitat for many animals, birds and insects that play their own important part in our natural world.

The bur oak is a unique native tree and a special part of the Nashville canopy. You can learn to recognize it by the rounded lobes of its large leaves, its huge acorns and its widely spreading branches. And if you’d like to consider planting one in your own yard, check out the bur oak’s listing on our tree sale page. 
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