32aoak Grande Jpg
Village Grande at Miller’s Run, Shearers Drive, Lancaster PA

Lancaster County cannot boast of an oak, or any tree, more stately than this. Now in its prime at an estimated 160 years, this tree commands its own dedicated greenspace within the community of Village Grande at Miller’s Run.

The fuzzy galls on this oak’s leaves are no cause for alarm. The gall is the oak’s response to irritations caused by a tiny cynipid wasp who lays her eggs on its leaves.  The oak then encases the eggs in galls which in turn shelter the developing wasps. The tree is not harmed; the wasps are beneficial.

Update:  This tree’s trunk began splitting in the Summer of 2018.  Faced with loss of the tree, the Village Grande community had support cables installed by Bartlett Tree Experts to stabilize the tree’s structure.

​This amazing species is so impressive that noted 20th century naturalist Donald Peattie opined: “If oak is the king of trees, then White Oak is the King of Kings.”

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