appressed, minutely dense-tomentose except the glabrous brown margin; acorns 

 1-1.5 cm. long, nearly as broad, subrotund, broadly rounded, densely puberulent 

 or glabrate and dull-brown, one fourth included or enclosed at base only. 



In moist forests, wet borders of swamps and along streams in s.e. Okla. and 

 e. Tex.; e. to the Atl. ocean and n. to 111. and N.Y. 



7. Quercus laurifolia Michx. Laurel oak, swamp laurel oak. 



Large trees to 18 m. tall, with hard gray or black bark; twigs 1-2.5 mm. thick, 

 pliable, fluted or round, dark-reddish-brown, gray the second season, from densely 

 fulvous-stellate promptly glabrate or remaining sparsely pubescent; buds about 4 

 mm. long and 2 mm. broad, very acute, slightly quadrangular, nearly glabrous, 

 dark-reddish-brown; stipules quickly caducous, about 4 mm. long, ligulate or 

 spatulate, tan, villous especially about the apex; leaves evergreen, thick and 

 coriaceous or deciduous. 5-10 or sometimes 12-15 cm. long, to 8 cm. broad, 

 characteristically oblanceolate or narrowly ovate, acute to broadly rounded at 

 apex but aristate-tipped, cuneate to cordate at base, entire to variously undulate, 

 margins moderately revolute, from sparsely stellate-puberulent glabrate and glossy 

 above or persistently somewhat pubescent about the base of the midrib, similarly 

 glabrate beneath but dull; petioles to 4 mm. long, rose-color or dark-red, glabrate 

 or sparsely stellate; staminate catkins 2-2.5 cm. long, densely villous, moderately 

 densely flowered, the small ellipsoid anthers moderately exserted from the villous 

 perianth; pistillate catkins on peduncles 1-3 mm. long, 1- to 3-flowered; fruit 

 biennial, solitary or paired on a short peduncle or subsessile; cups 14-18 mm. 

 broad, 5-7 mm. high, shallowly bowl-shaped, flat basaily or turbinate; cup scales 

 tightly appressed, ovate, minutely dense-puberulent, tan and glossy where abraded, 

 margins not inrolled; acorns about 15 mm. long, subglobose to broadly ovoid, 

 apically broadly rounded, basaily flattened, tan or brown, minutely and sparsely 

 puberulent, included at base only. Q. ohtusa (Willd.) Pursh, Q. rhombica Sarg. 



Wet forests, particularly along streams and borders of swamps, in s.e. Tex.; 

 e. to the Atl. ocean. 



8. Quercus nigra L. Water oak. 



Moderate or large trees to 15 m. tall, with boles to 5 dm. in diameter and hard 

 smooth or shallowly furrowed black bark; twigs 1-2 mm. in diameter, fluted, 

 glabrous or from scantily stellate quickly glabrate and glossy dark-reddish-brown 

 with conspicuous pale lenticels or not, gray the second season; buds 3-5 mm. 

 long, 2-3 mm. broad, ovoid, subacute, dark-reddish-brown, densely fulvous- 

 strigose above the middle; stipules caducous, 6-10 mm. long, ligulate to spatulate, 

 tufted at apex; leaves subevergreen, rather thick and leathery, to 14 cm. long and 

 5 cm. broad, oblong to usually cuneiform or clavate, sometimes oblanceolate, 

 entire or 3-lobed anically or variously toothed or lobed and distorted in cases of 

 heterophylly, broadly rounded or rarely acute at the apices, attenuately cuneate 

 or rarely narrowly rounded at the bases, margins flat or minutely revolute, from 

 minutely puberulent glabrate and glossy above, dull green or coppery and glabrate 

 beneath or usually with prominent axillary tufts; petioles 3-7 mm. long, promi- 

 nently winged by decurrence of the blade, from sparingly stellate-tomentose gla- 

 brate or persistently pubescent; staminate catkins 4-1 cm. long, densely or sparsely 

 arachnoid-tomentose, rather loosely flowered, the anthers well-exserted from the 

 villous perianth; pistillate catkins 3-5 mm. long, 1- to 3-flowered; fruit biennial, 

 solitary or paired on a peduncle to 5 mm. long or subsessile; cups 9-15 mm. broad, 

 2.5-5 mm. high, at most deeply saucer-shaped, basaily very flat or somewhat 

 rounded, margins not inrolled; cup scales narrowly ovate, closely appressed, 

 densely fulvous-sericeous-tomentose; acorns 8-10 mm. long, 9-15 mm. broad, 

 hemispheric to subglobose, very flat at base, broadly rounded apically, densely 



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