From El Paso to Texarkana: New Texas Superstar Oak shines in adaptability

In trials across the state, chinkapin oak has proven to be one of the best adapted, drought hardy species of shade tree available, said a Texas A&M University horticulturist.

“Tolerance to a wide range of environmental conditions is one of the chinkapin oak’s best characteristics,” said Dr. Michael Arnold. “Chinkapin oaks are very heat tolerant, thriving from East Texas, to Central Texas and even to El Paso.”

Because of its hardiness, and its “handsome” qualities, chinkapin oak has recently been designated a Texas Superstar, Arnold said.

Begun in the late 1980s, the Texas Superstar program identifies plants that will perform well for Texas consumers. A 10-member executive committee selects plants for trials conducted in all areas of the state, from Overton to Dallas to College Station and San Antonio even as far west as El Paso. Selections come from the committee members’ research and observation most of whom are Texas A&M horticulturists to suggestions from commercial nursery and plant farm owners, and private individuals. Superstar candidates may come from outside the state, but most generally come from Texas.

“For example, one of our current candidates was found in a rural central Texas cemetery a flowering perennial,” said Dr. Brent Pemberton, horticulturist with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and member of the Superstar executive committee.

Superstar candidates are tested from one to three years at the various sites, with attention given to hardiness, disease resistance and aesthetics.

But with the primary requirement being wide-ranging adaptability, only a small percentage of the candidate plants end up being designated as Superstars, Pemberton said.

Chinkapin oak, though not widely grown, easily met the wide-ranging adaptability requirement, Arnold said.

Most commonly known as chinkapin oak, sometimes spelled chinqapin, the tree is also known as bray oak, chestnut oak, yellow chestnut oak, rock chestnut oak, rock oak or yellow oak. Chinkapin or chinqapin is generally believed to be derived from “chinkomen,” an Algonquin (Native American) term for chestnut. This name stems from its 4- to 6-inch long leaves which resemble those of chestnut trees.

Chinkapins are considered a “medium size” shade tree, Arnold said, growing to be 30- to 50-feet tall.

“Thus, chinkapin oak remains more in scale with Texas residential plantings than some larger shade trees,” Arnold said.

Arnold wrote in his official review of the tree: “The handsome foliage emerges reddish to green and matures to a dark lustrous green in late spring. Foliage of chinkapin oak is not frequently bothered by insect or diseases, remaining presentable throughout the growing season. In some years chinkapin oak will also develop a pleasing yellow, orange-brown, to rich brown fall color. As a young plant the canopy is typically an upright oval, with the crown eventually becoming more rounded and spreading with age. The flaky light brown to grayish mature bark is reminiscent of that of white oak. Chinkapin oak’s sweet acorns are very palatable to a variety of animals, thus serving as an environmentally friendly food source for attracting urban wildlife.”

Arnold also noted that it is chinkapin’s heat- and drought-tolerance that makes the species so widely adaptable throughout Texas. The tree grows better in neutral to somewhat alkaline soils, Arnold said, but also tolerates acid soils, another factor than lends to its adaptability.

“Chlorosis (yellowing of the foliage) so common on many trees in high pH soils is seldom a problem with chinkapin oak,” Arnold wrote. Also, chinkapin oaks are less susceptible to wilt than red and live oaks, he said.