Oak trees (Quercus) generally occur in the temperate areas of the Himalaya and strangely enough none are found in the Nilgiris or in the highlands of Sri Lanka. The main use of the timber is as fuel and the leaves are a good fodder and hence they are ruthlessly lopped for this purpose. An indirect value of oaks is the protection which they give to the more important coniferous trees, during the youth of the latter. About thirty two species are found in the subcontinent including Burma. The more important of these are the Ban oak, Buk oak and the Moru oak.

Ban oak, Quercus leucotrichophora (Q.incana), is a moderate to large evergreen tree with leathery dull green leaves, grey-felted underneath and sharp-toothed on the margin. Young foliage has a lilac or a purple tinge. It is distributed all along the outer Himalaya except the Kashmir valley proper where the full force of the monsoon is not felt. It is capable of growing on the hottest and driest hillsides and in such situations it is stunted and gnarled. In moist valleys it is a tall straight tree. The fruits (acrons) are solitary or in pairs. The nut is egg-shaped, half-enclosed in the woody cup. A sweet exudation, known as Oak manna, is used in confectionery. The fallen seeds are eaten by birds before they ripen. Their survival is therefore threatened unless the ground is worked so that falling acrons get hidden.

Brown oak, Kharsu oak (Q.semecarpifolia), is a high altitude oak of the Himalaya, extending eastwards into Burma and ascending to 3600 metres. The foliage has a coppery or brownish tinge in autumn and winter and Kharsu forests look spectacular under clear blue skies at that time. The edge of the leaf may be smooth or spiny-toothed; the acrons solitary, the cup, small, flat and thin, covering only the base of the round smooth nut 2.5 cm across. The timber is good building material and the leaves are suiatbel for feeding caterpillars of the silk-moth Antheraea pernyi introduced from China.

Buk oak, Quercus lamellose, is a very large tree of the eastern Himalaya, Manipur and Burma where it occurs gregariously between 1800 and 2600 metres along with maples and other trees. It is recognized at a distance by its large leaves, up to 30 cm long, with a white under-surface. The leaf margin is sharply toothed like a saw. The leaf veins (up to 25 pairs) are prominent beneath. The large flat nuts are characteristic. They are lodged in shallow, saucer-shaped cups seven centimetres across. The followers appear in the months of April-May and the fruits in November. It works as an excellent fuel.

Moru oak is a large evergreen tree of the western Himalaya and Nepal, growing on cool moist aspects between 2000 and 2750 metres. The leaves are spinous and holly-like. The flowers appear at the same time as or before the leaves, as in all oaks. Acrons grow singly, and have an ovoid nut, pointed as the tip and seated in a hemispherical cup.