PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
No image available
Fagaceae FAMILY

Quercus baloot

Quercus baloot

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

All parts of the plant contain tannins. Whilst tannins are found in many foods, and have a range of medicinal uses. They are usually only present in low concentrations. In some foods made from oaks (particularly the seeds), the tannin content can be quite high unless the food is treated to reduce tannin content. Tannins are only of low toxicity and, because of their bitter taste and astringency, are unlikely to be eaten in large quantities. However, if they are taken in excess, they can cause stomach pains; constipation followed by bloody diarrhoea: excessive thirst; and excessive urination[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Quercus baloot is a moderately cold-hardy tree, tolerating temperatures down to around -20°c when dormant. It grows best in areas with hot summers. In areas with cooler summers, such as the maritime regions of the temperate zone, it often grows poorly, failing to properly ripen its wood and suffering frost damage over the winter[2, 3]. A slow-growing species, it is adapted to drought, heat and extreme cold . A warm sunny site is indicated, but it can still be slow even in such conditions[4]. Seedlings soon develop a taproot and become intolerant of root disturbance, they should be planted into their permanent positions whilst young[2]. Most Quercus species hybridize freely with other members of the genus[3]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[3].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Quercus+baloot>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]Poisonous Plants of North Carolina — http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm ↩︎An excellent concise but comprehensive guide to toxic plants that grow in N. Carolina. It lists even those plants that are of very low toxicity, including several well-known food plants such as carrots and potatoes.
  2. [2]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]New Trees — Grimshaw J.; Bayton R.; Wilks H. · Kew Publishing; London · 2009 · ISBN 1842461737 ↩︎Provides comprehensive botanical descriptions and horticultural commentary on over 800 tree species that have been introduced to cultivation in recent decades.
  5. [5]Ethnobotanical Studies of Some Useful Shrubs and Trees of District Buner, NWFP, Pakistan — Muhammad Hamayun · Ethnobotany Project, WWF-Pakistan; Peshawar ↩︎A brief guide to the traditional uses of 94 woody species from District Buner, NWFP, Pakistan
  6. [6]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  7. [7]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  8. [8]Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Some Quercus Species Growing in Turkey — Didem Söhretoğlu; Melike Ekizoğlu; Ekrem Kiliç; M. Koray Sak · 2007 ↩︎
  9. [9]Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. — Riotte. L. · Garden Way, Vermont, USA. · 1978 · ISBN 0-88266-064-0 ↩︎Fairly good.
  10. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎