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The pin oak, a species of red oak, has 5-7 small, sharp-pointed lobes on the leaves. All species of red oak have pointed leaf lobes, while white and bur oaks have rounded lobes. The pointed leaf lobes are evident on this trees’ leaves. The name pin oak comes from its short and tough branches located along the branches and limbs, mimicking short pins. The pin oak has a pyramidal shape in form through early maturity and turns more oval in older age. It is fast and easy-growing, making it a common landscape tree. In the fall, its glossy dark green leaves turn russet, bronze or red. Pin oak acorns are eaten by many songbirds, wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, squirrels and smaller rodents and they are a particularly important food for many ducks. Big trees like pin oaks also provide many place for birds and squirrels to nest.

On Notre Dame's campus, oak trees have an extensive history. Early Holy Cross priests in the area met with the resident Miami Indians by tradition under their large burr oak tree, later known as the Council Oak. The tree remained a landmark until August of 1991, when the remaining branches broke off the approximately 400-year-old trunk. Two offspring of the Council Oak, grew on Notre Dame's campus, above the Grotto. When Notre Dame was built, the land was originally an oak opening. With scattered trees, usually oaks, on open grassland, the area was categorized as some of the best agricultural land. In 1829, William Brookfield surveyed trees in the area. The immediate setting of Father Sorin's university can be abstracted from his notes. In the section he surveyed, he listed 27 individual trees of six species: 11 white oak, 9 yellow oak, 4 black oak, 1 red oak, 1 hickory and 1 pepperage. It is probable that other oaks, such as the pin oak, also occurred in the area. Additionally, the first records of planting oaks on Notre Dame's campus date back to the 1870s.