Editing Quercus alba (section)

== Uses ==
=== Cultivation ===
''Quercus alba'' is cultivated as an [[ornamental tree]] somewhat infrequently due to its slow growth and ultimately huge size. It is not tolerant of urban pollution and road salt and due to its large taproot, is unsuited for a street tree or parking strips/islands.

=== Food ===
The acorns are much less bitter than the acorns of red oaks. They can be eaten by humans but, if bitter, may need to have the tannins leached.<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=228, 231|oclc=244766414|orig-year=1982}}</ref> They are also a valuable wildlife food, notably for turkeys, wood ducks, pheasants, grackles, jays, nuthatches, thrushes, woodpeckers, rabbits, squirrels, deer, and black bear.  The white oak is the only known food plant of the ''[[Bucculatrix luteella]]'' and ''Bucculatrix ochrisuffusa'' caterpillars.

The young shoots of many eastern oak species are readily eaten by deer.<ref name="Houston">Houston, David R. 1971. Noninfectious diseases of oaks. In: Oak symposium: Proceedings; 1971 August 16–20; Morgantown, WV. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station: 118-123. [9088]</ref>  Dried oak leaves are also occasionally eaten by white-tailed deer in the fall or winter.<ref name="Van Lear 1983">Van Lear, David H.; Johnson, Von J. 1983. Effects of prescribed burning in the southern Appalachian and upper Piedmont forests: a review. Forestry Bull. No. 36. Clemson, SC: Clemson University, College of Forest and Recreation Resources, Department of Forestry. 8 p. [11755]</ref>  Rabbits often browse twigs and can girdle stems.<ref name="Houston" />

=== Woodcraft ===
White oak has [[tylose]]s that give the wood a closed cellular structure, making it water- and rot-resistant. Because of this characteristic, white oak is used by [[cooper (profession)|coopers]] to make wine and whiskey barrels as the wood resists leaking. It has also been used in construction, shipbuilding, agricultural implements and in the interior finishing of houses.<ref name=Keeler /> White oak splints have been used historically by Native Americans for basketry.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Banks |first=William |date=1953-03-01 |title=Ethnobotany of the Cherokee Indians |url=https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1052 |journal=Masters Theses}}</ref>

White oak logs feature prominent [[Medullary ray (botany)|medullary rays]] which produce a distinctive, decorative ray and fleck pattern when the wood is [[Quarter sawing|quarter sawn]]. Quarter sawn white oak was a signature wood used in [[Mission style furniture|mission style]] oak furniture by [[Gustav Stickley]] in the Craftsman style of the [[Arts and Crafts movement]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Talking shop : the language of craft in an age of consumption|author=Betjemann, Peter J.|date=2011|publisher=University of Virginia Press|isbn=9780813931692|location=Charlottesville|pages=159|oclc=785943089}}</ref>

{{USS|Constitution}} is made of white oak and [[southern live oak]], conferring additional resistance to cannon fire. Reconstructive wood replacement of white oak parts comes from a special grove of ''Quercus alba'' known as the "''Constitution'' Grove" at [[Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maritime.org/conf/conf-otton-mat.htm |title=Materials on USS Constitution |publisher=San Francisco National Maritime Park Association |access-date=2011-07-24}}</ref>

=== Musical instruments ===
[[Deering Banjo Company]] have made several 5-string banjos using white oak - including members of the Vega series, the White Lotus, and the limited edition 40th anniversary model. White Oak has a mellower timbre than more traditionally used [[maple]], and yet still has enough power and projection to not require a metal tone ring.

=== Oak barrels ===
[[Barrel]]s made of American white oak are commonly used for [[oak (wine)|oak]] aging of [[wine]], in which the wood is noted for imparting strong flavors.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Daniel |last=Sogg |url=http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Archives/Show_Article/0,1275,3302,00.html |title=White Wines, New Barrels: The taste of new oak gains favor worldwide |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122140514/http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Archives/Show_Article/0,1275,3302,00.html |archive-date=2008-11-22 |work=Wine Spectator |date=July 31, 2001}}</ref> Also, by federal regulation, [[bourbon whiskey]] must be aged in charred new oak (generally understood to mean specifically American white oak) barrels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=21224b7c634d83e0fa329bfd18bb85dc&rgn=div8&view=text&node=27:1.0.1.1.3.3.25.2&idno=27 |title=27 C.F.R. sec 5.22(l)(1) |publisher=Ecfr.gpoaccess.gov |access-date=2013-06-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817003820/http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=21224b7c634d83e0fa329bfd18bb85dc&rgn=div8&view=text&node=27%3A1.0.1.1.3.3.25.2&idno=27 |archive-date=2012-08-17 }}</ref>