Blackjack oak trees are slowly dying in numbers. The spread of Dutch elm disease has caused the death of many blackjack oak trees.
Dutch elm disease is a fungal infection that attacks the vascular tissue in the tree’s trunk and branches. The fungus overwinters in the dead branches and can spread to new trees during winter rains.
Dutch elm disease has killed blackjack oak across much of its range. The disease is now found in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, and North Carolina.
The tree’s range once stretched from Ontario to Florida but today it is limited to the eastern United States.
The blackjack oak is a valuable tree because it produces a wide range of products including timber, nuts, and flowers. If the tree survives Dutch elm disease then it may have a better chance of recovering in the future.
However, if blackjack oak does not survive Dutch elm disease then it will become a part of nature’s cycle and eventually be gone forever.
