The upper lateral buds cluster at the top of the twig.
The buds have a tendency towards being five-sided in shape.
The bud scales are close and overlapping.
The leaf-scars project from the stem.
The bundle-scars are scattered over the leaf-scar.
The pith is five-angled. By cutting a twig across, the pith can be seen in the centre in the form of a five-rayed star.
The leaves very often remain on oaks through the winter.
The following characteristics distinguish the white oaks from the black oaks:—
The bark of the white oaks is lighter in color than that of the black oaks, and it flakes off in strips instead of breaking away in coarse ridges, as it does in the black oaks.
