Description
Bastard Oak (also known as Durand Oak) is a durable native white oak variety adapted to alkaline limestone ridges, rocky hillsides, and well-drained alluvial terraces across Central Texas. Exceptionally resilient to prolonged summer droughts, it features variable, shallowly lobed leaves with pale downy undersides that reflect intense sunlight. In autumn, it yields heavy crops of sweet, low-tannin acorns that serve as a high-protein winter food source for white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, blue jays, and gray squirrels. Its grand, spreading branch architecture anchors thin hillside topsoil and hosts over 500 species of native lepidopteran caterpillars, supporting complex woodland food webs.
