In a landscape dominated by grasses, seed fields, and pastures, an aged oak tree's spreading dome of gnarled branches commands attention. Some have stood for more than 300 years, a time when native white oak trees and grasses covered half a million acres across the Willamette Valley. Less than 2 percent of that oak savanna remains. The Oregon White Oak is characterized by stout twigs bearing large hairy buds, with deep dark green leaves, rounded in their lobes unlike red oak or Shumard red oak, and acorns which grow rather big in shallow cups. The rugged, broad branching habit of aged trees is inspiring, but though the wood is strong, it does break, and Indians learned the hard way not to camp underneath these trees.