This is widespread in central and eastern North America, but largely restricted to submesic or subxeric sites on base-rich soils; the species is less tolerant of heavy soils or dampness than macrocarpa (especially if roots are damaged). In Ky. it is most common in calcareous regions, but also occurs at low density on more base-rich shales within the rugged Appalachian hills. There appears to be rare hybridization with macrocarpa, alba, bicolor, montana and michauxii; see notes under those species. Acorns of muehlenbergii are relatively small (with nuts averaging 10-20 x 10-15 mm) compared to most other white oaks in Ky. (except stellata), and unusually variable in size. Nuts of only 5-10 x 5-10 mm are sometimes produced, especially in dry years. Acorns drop relatively early (mid Sep to early Oct), a month or so before alba and macrocarpa. They are relatively sweet ("the most edible of all our oaks"), rapidly consumed by larger birds in the trees, and perhaps formerly swarmed by passenger pigeons (Deam 1921). Leaves are acuminate and usually have relatively pronounced small points on teeth (as in prinoides). They usually lack obovate shape, but are highly variable in size, with length from ca. 5 to 30 cm. Also, trees are generally much smaller in xeric habitats. There is probably much genetic variation in these dimensions, but there has been no definitive study (FNA 3). Phenological differences from other white oaks in Ky. also deserve more attention: leaves emerge in mid- to late Apr, 1-2 weeks before alba and macrocarpa; In a more global comparison using cultivated saplings (Abdala-Roberts et al. 2018), muehlenbergii was shown to be among the most mesophytic species of Quercus, with relatively high leaf N content and Specific Leaf Area, but relatively low water content, P content and chemical defenses (condensed tannins, lignins, flavonoids).