Oak Origins with Andrew Hipp

How did oaks become such important and beloved trees across the northern
hemisphere? What are oak species? What are oak hybrids, and how important
are they? How do oaks shape the forest? This lecture, based on Hipp’s Oak
Origins: From Acorns to Species and the Tree of Life (University of Chicago
Press, 2024), answers these questions and many more. It touches on the natural history and biology of
reproduction in oaks; the origins of oak species and their hybrids; and the estimated 56 million years
of oak evolutionary history. The lecture covers research spanning more than a century and illustrates
it with trees we all know and love. Following the lecture there will be a tour of the Arboretum’s oak
collection and herbarium. Andrew Hipp is the Director of the Herbarium and Senior Scientist in
Plant Systematics at The Morton Arboretum and a Lecturer at University of Chicago. His research
group investigates the evolution of plant biodiversity, aiming to understand how the plant Tree of
Life evolves and affects our world.
Copies of Oak Origins: From Acorns to Species and the Tree of Life will be available for sale.
$15 ($10 for PHA members). Please pre-register.