Editing Quercus rubra (section)

==Uses==
[[File:Quercusrubra.jpg|thumb|upright|Wood; from [[Romeyn Beck Hough]]'s fourteen-volume work ''The American Woods'']]

The northern red oak is one of the most important oaks for [[timber]] production in North America. Quality red oak is of high value as lumber and veneer, while defective logs are used as [[firewood]]. Other related oaks are also cut and marketed as red oak, although their wood is not always of as high a quality. These include [[eastern black oak]], [[scarlet oak]], [[pin oak]], [[Shumard oak]], [[southern red oak]] and other species in the red oak group. Construction uses include flooring, veneer, interior trim, and furniture. It is also used for lumber, railroad ties, and fence posts.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

Red oak wood grain is so open that smoke can be blown through it from end-grain to end-grain on a flat-sawn board. For this reason, it is subject to moisture infiltration and is unsuitable for outdoor uses such as boatbuilding or exterior trim.{{Citation needed|date=December 2014}}

The acorns can be collected in autumn, shelled, tied up in a cloth, and leached to remove bitterness. They can then be eaten whole or ground into meal.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Elias|first1=Thomas S.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/244766414|title=Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods|last2=Dykeman|first2=Peter A.|publisher=[[Sterling Publishing|Sterling]]|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4027-6715-9|location=New York|pages=233|oclc=244766414|orig-year=1982}}</ref>

===Ornamental use===

''Quercus rubra'' is grown in parks and large gardens as a specimen tree.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Quercus rubra'' |url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=3485 |website=RHS Gardening |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society |access-date=27 June 2013 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It is not planted as often as the closely related [[pin oak]] as it develops a [[taproot]] and quickly becomes difficult to transplant, however modern growing pots have made starting seedlings with taproots easier than in the past.