main intact for years.
Although Oregon white oak is host to hundreds of insect species (19), damage is usually not severe, and loss of trees to insect attack is uncommon. The western oak looper (Lambdina fiscellaria somniaria) is probably the most damaging insect on white oak from Oregon north to British Columbia. In some years, oaks over large areas in the Willamette Valley are defoliated (23). The damage is temporary since the trees leaf out the next year and outbreaks are not sustained. The western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum) and the Pacific tent caterpillar (M. constrictum) are widely distributed defoliators with a preference for oaks. Several species of aphid, particularly Teberculatus columbiae, feed on the underside of oak leaves; the snowy tree cricket (Oecanthus fultoni) lives in open-grown oaks and associated species; and several leafrollers (Abebaea cervella and Pandemis cerasana) are found on Oregon white oak. Oregon white oak is the principal host for R. cerasana, an introduced leafroller causing sporadic defoliation that is now maintaining a relatively high population and slowly extending its range around Victoria, BC (17). Many gall wasps are found on oaks; those prominent on Oregon white oak include Andricus californicus, which forms large, persistent, applelike galls on twigs; Bassettia ligni, which causes seedlike galls under the bark of branches that often girdle and kill the branch; Besbicus mirabilis, which forms mottled, spherical galls on the underside of leaves; and Neuroterus saltatorius, which forms mustard-seed-like galls on lower leaf surfaces that drop in the fall and jump around like Mexican jumping beans caused by activity of the enclosed larvae (18,23).
Only incidental damage by animals has been noted on vegetative parts of Oregon white oak. Douglas squirrels and western gray squirrels sometimes debark small branches infested by gall wasp larvae (64). Damage is scattered and may involve as much as one-fourth of a tree's crown. Gophers and other burrowing animals, which are abundant on forest borders, damage some roots. Livestock inflict some trampling and feeding damage on young oaks.
The wood of Oregon white oak is dense, with specific gravity ranging from 0.52 to 0.88 when ovendry (66), has moderate strength in static bending tests, but does not absorb shocks well (47). It rates high in compression and shear strength and is outstanding among 20 northwestern woods in tension and side hardness tests (47). The heartwood is at least as durable as that of white oak (Quercus alba) (58). Pallets made from Oregon white oak compare favorably in strength with those made from other species (66) and are higher in withdrawal resistance for nails or staples (41).
Specialty items, fenceposts, and fuel are now the primary uses of Oregon white oak. The wood is considered one of the best fuels for home heating and commands top prices. It has been used for flooring, interior finish, furniture, cooperage staves, cabinet stock, insulator pins, woodenware, novelties, baskets, handle stock, felling wedges, agricultural implements, vehicles, and ship construction (60). Consumption of Oregon white oak totaled 12 454 m³ (2,185,000 fbm) exclusive of fuel in 1910 but has since declined (60).
Although Oregon white oak is not grown commercially for landscape purposes, scattered native trees, groves, and open stands are highly valued scenic assets in wildland, farm, park, and urban areas (35,42,49,56). Mistletoe is a scenic growth on Oregon white oaks that is collected and sold as a decorative and festive minor product.
Until recent times, meal or mush made from acorns of many oaks (including Oregon white oak) was a common Indian food (35,71,81). When crops were heavy, white oak acorns were also gathered and stored by local ranchers for feed, mainly for hogs. Livestock forage for acorns and prefer those of white oaks to black oaks (81). The leaves have a protein content of 5 to 14 percent (35,56), and Oregon white oak is rated as good to fair browse for deer but poor for domestic livestock.
Oregon white