Here’s what the Iowa Official Register 1989-1990 has to say about Iowa’s official tree:
The 59th General Assembly declared the oak to be Iowa’s state tree in 1961. This should not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the forests of our state. It would be difficult to find a tract of natural woodland in Iowa that did not harbor at least one species of oak, and most areas have several. No other group of trees is more important to people and wildlife.
Acorns, the nuts of oak trees, are a dietary staple of many animals and birds. Wild turkeys, pheasants, quail, wood ducks, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, blue jays, nuthatches, grackles, and several kinds of woodpeckers are a few of the species that depend on acorns for a significant part of their diet. The prevalence of oaks in Iowa woodlands also makes these trees valuable as shelter and nesting cover.
Iowa is the westernmost of six states and one province that chose oaks as their official trees. The stately white oak represents neighboring Illinois, as well as Connecticut and Maryland. The red oak represents New Jersey and Prince Edward Island. Georgians swooned over the live oak, whose moss-draped limbs capture the romance of the South and the sea. The District of Columbia is even represented by an oak, the scarlet oak.
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