A sapling cultivated at the Arnold Arboretum, wild collected in New York State. Chinquapin oak is not native in Massachusetts. It is placed here only in connection with dwarf chinquapin oak, Q. prinoides . In the American literature, there has been a lasting discussion about whether the two form a single species. The recent "Flora of North America" has put a full stop in this argument. Q. muhlenbergii is a tree distributed on limestone, while Q. prinoides is a coastal shrub often growing on acidic rocks and sand, though leaves of the two oaks have much in common.