A sapling cultivated at the Arnold Arboretum, wild collected in New York State. Within Massachusetts, chinquapin oak is native only in the extreme west (the Berkshires). In the American literature, there was a lasting discussion about whether chinquapin and dwarf chinquapin oak, Q. prinoides form a single species. The treatment of beech family in the 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.