Editing Quercus palustris (section)

==Ecology==
=== Associated forest cover ===

Pin oak is a major species in only one forest cover type, '''pin oak–sweetgum''', which is found on bottom lands and some upland sites throughout the central portion of the pin oak range. Pin oak and sweetgum (''[[Liquidambar styraciflua]]'') vary in their relative proportions in this cover type. Large areas of almost pure pin oak occur on the "pin oak flats" of the upland glacial till plains or in the bottom lands of the lower Ohio and central Mississippi River valleys.{{r|USDA}} Associated species in this forest type include red maple (''[[Acer rubrum]]''), American elm (''[[Ulmus americana]]''), black tupelo (''[[Nyssa sylvatica]]''), swamp white oak (''[[Quercus bicolor]]''), willow oak (''[[Quercus phellos]]''), overcup oak (''[[Quercus lyrata]]''), bur oak (''[[Quercus macrocarpa]]''), green ash (''[[Fraxinus pennsylvanica]]''), Nuttall's oak (''[[Quercus texana]]''), swamp chestnut oak (''[[Quercus michauxii]]''), and shellbark (''[[Carya laciniosa]]'') and shagbark (''[[Carya ovata]]'') hickories.<ref name="USDA"/>

Pin oak is an associated species in [[silver maple]]–American elm forests in the bottom lands along the Ohio, Wabash, Mississippi, and Missouri Rivers. A variant of this type, silver maple–American elm–pin oak–sweetgum, is found along major streams in southern Illinois and Indiana.<ref name="USDA"/>

Pin oak also occurs in [[black ash]]–American elm–[[red maple]] forests in poorly drained bottom lands in northern Ohio and Indiana along with silver maple (''[[Acer saccharinum]]''), swamp white oak, sycamore (''[[Platanus occidentalis]]''), black tupelo, and eastern cottonwood (''[[Populus deltoides]]'').<ref name="USDA"/>

=== Reaction to competition ===
Pin oak is classed as intolerant of shade. It is less tolerant than elm, boxelder ''([[Acer negundo]])'', sweetgum, hackberry ''([[Celtis occidentalis]])'', and ash, but is more tolerant than eastern cottonwood and black willow. Pin oak usually grows in even-aged stands of dominant and co-dominant trees. Intermediate and suppressed trees in such stands usually die within a few years of being overtopped. Single pin oaks in mixed stands usually are dominants. Pin oak is considered a subclimax species. It persists on heavy, wet soils because it produces an abundance of acorns which, if released, grow faster on these sites than most of its competitors.<ref name="USDA"/>

=== Damaging agents ===
Although pin oak is very tolerant of dormant-season flooding, it is much less tolerant of growing-season flooding. Trees may be injured or killed by intermittent growing-season flooding over several successive years. The trees can usually survive one growing season of continuous flooding, but will be killed by continuous flooding over 2 or 3 consecutive years. Pin oak is rated as "intermediately tolerant" to growing-season flooding. Also, since the bark of pin oak is relatively thin, the species is especially susceptible to damage by fire and decay associated with fire wounds.<ref name="USDA" />

=== Associated species ===
Due to similarity in leaf shape, the pin oak is often confused with [[scarlet oak]] and [[Quercus velutina|black oak]], and occasionally, [[Quercus rubra|red oak]]. However, it can be distinguished by its distinctive dead branches on the lower trunk ("pins"), and its uniquely shaped crown. The sinuses on pin oak leaves are also deeply cut, often covering just as much area as the leaf itself.

The pin oak is the only known food plant of ''[[Bucculatrix domicola]]'' caterpillars.