Quercus rubra ‘Aurea’ L.
Golden red oak
The tree tag number relates to the black tree-maintenance tags, usually fixed on the trunk, 2 to 3m above ground level.
The Golden red oak is a very rare variant of the Eastern North American red oak. Belfast Botanic Gardens has a fine young specimen at the end of the main lawn closest to the Palm House. In the spring it is a dazzling gold when it catches the early morning sun. Later in the summer the gold fades to a yellowish green. This young tree is starting to produce acorns in the rather flattened cups characteristic of red oak. Red oak acorns take two years to mature, remaining minute on the tree in the first year.
The golden red oak is one of a number of fine oak specimens in the tree collection of Belfast Botanic Gardens.
Photos taken in Belfast Botanic Gardens in 2009. Copyright: Friends of Belfast Botanic Gardens.