FAGACE^ 



239 



Mountains; abundant in all parts of the Mississippi basin, and of its largest size in 

 the valley of the lower Ohio River; the common species of the Black Oak group 

 reaching the south-Atlantic and Gulf coast, and here generally scattered on dry 

 ridges through the maritime Pine belt. 



Quercus velutina, which is more variable in the form of its leaves than the other 

 North American Black Oaks, is easily recognized by the bright yellow color of the 

 inner bark, in early spring by the deep red color of the unfolding leaves, becoming 

 pale and silvery in a few days, and by the large tomentose winter-buds. From west- 

 ern Missouri to northwestern Arkansas a form occurs (var. Missouriensis, Sarg., nov. 

 var.^ with the mature leaves stellate-pubescent above, and coated below and on the 

 petioles and summer brauehlets with rusty pubescence, and with broader more loosely 

 imbricated hoary-tomentose cup-scales. 



8. Quercus Californica, Coop. Black Oak. 



Leaves oblong or obovate, truncate, wedge-shaped or rounded at the narrow base, 

 7 or rarely o-lobed by wide and deep or shallow and oblique sinuses rounded at the 

 bottom, the terminal lobe ovate, 3-toothed at the acute apex, the lateral lobes taper- 

 ing gradually from the base or broad and obovate, coarsely repand-dentate, with 

 acute pointed teeth, or rarely entire, when they unfold dark red or purple and pilose 

 above and coated below and on the petioles with thick silvery white tomentum, at 



maturity thick and firm, lustrous, dark yellow-green and glabrous or rarely stellate- 

 pubescent above, light yellow-green or brownish and glabrous or pubescent, or occa- 

 sionally hoary-tomentose below, 3'-6' long, 2'-4' wide, turning yellow or brown in 

 the autumn before falling; their petioles slender, yellow, l'-2' long. Flo"wers : 

 staminate in hairy aments 4'-5' long; calyx pubescent, divided into 4 or 5 ovate 

 acute segments shorter than the stamens, with bright red anthers; pistillate on short 

 tomentose peduncles, their involucral scales ovate, coated like the acute calyx-lobes 

 with pale tomentum; stigmas dark red. Fruit short-stalked, solitary or clustered; 

 acorn oblong, oval or obovate, broad and rounded at the base, full and rounded or 

 gradually narrowed and acute at the puberulous apex, I'-l^' long, about |' broad, 

 light chestnut-brown, often striate, inclosed for one fourth to two thirds its length 

 in the deep cup-shaped cup light brown and puberulous on the inner surface, and 

 covered by thin ovate-lanceolate lustrous light chestnut-brown scales, sometimes 



