When it comes to oak tree bark identification, you’re looking for bark that’s brown or scaly, and hard sometimes with deep ridges and grooves. Oakwood is dense and durable; it’s been used to build homes and floors, ships and even wine barrels.

Bark on a live oak tree trunk is identified by its reddish-brown color with narrow furrows running vertically. As live oak trees mature, the bark becomes dark gray and develops a thick, scaly pattern with deep grooves. Finally, branches on live oak trees are pale gray covered in short hairs.

The bark of young oak trees is smooth and has a silvery brown look. As oak trees mature, the bark becomes fissured, developing deep grooves and ridges along it. Depending on the species of oak, the bark becomes light gray (white oak species) or very dark, almost black (red oak species).

Young oak trees have smooth bark that has a silvery brown color. The bark of oak trees becomes fissured as they mature, resulting in deep grooves and ridges. The bark of different oak species changes from light gray (white oak) to extremely dark, almost black (red oak).

Ash bark is smooth and pale gray in saplings, and mature trees have diamond shapes. Oak bark can be light gray to near black. It has deep fissures and ridges, giving it a scaly look.