The shingle oak is so called because its wood was favored by early settlers for making shingles. Its bark is believed to have been used medicinally by the Cherokee people. When young, the shingle oak has a pyramidal shape. As it matures, its crown opens and lower branches droop. The acorns mature biennially. The glossy, dark-green leaves are unusual for an oak -- oblong and unlobed.

The genus Quercus includes more than 600 species of the oak tree, of which 90 are native to North America; the Chicago Botanic Garden's collection contains more than 60 varieties and over 1,000 individual trees. Twenty oak species are native to Illinois.

Oaks are slow growing, long lived, hard wood trees that produce fruit we all know as acorns. Within the white oak group, acorns mature annually; in the red oak group, acorns take two years to mature (biennial). Oaks are often imposing shade trees at maturity and provide habitat and food for a variety of wildlife.