The Bur Oak is such a great Missouri shade tree that the University of Missouri used a photograph of it in an article entitled: "Selecting Landscape Plants: Shade Trees".

The graceful tree grows well in neighboring Kansas, where Kansas State University named it "Tree of the Year". Here are the features that make the Bur Oak a beautiful tree to walk beneath, lie under, or gaze at on a warm sunny day.

• Adaptable to most soils.
• String limbs that are relatively resistant to storms.
• Tolerates urban conditions well.
• The Kansas Forest Service notes that the Bur Oak is robust and resists diseases.
• The Quercus marcocarpa has a sizable height and crown.
• The Bur Oak is native to Missouri, and is so common that there is a nature center named after it -- Burr Oak Woods. (The tree can be spelled Bur or Burr.)