QUERCUS BICOLOR, WILLD. 81 



out Rockingham county ; Vermont, low grounds about 

 Lake Champlain ; Massachusetts, frequent in the western 

 and central sections, common eastward ; Rhode Island and 

 Connecticut, common. 



South to Delaware and along the mountains to northern Georgia ; 

 west to Minnesota, Iowa, east Kansas, and Arkansas. 



Habit. A medium-sized tree, 40-60 feet high, with a trunk 

 diameter of 2-3 feet ; attaining southward of the Great Lakes 

 and in the Ohio basin much greater dimensions ; roughest of 

 all the oaks, except the bur oak, in general aspect ; trunk 

 erect, continuous, in young trees often beset at point of branch- 

 ing with down-growing, scraggly branchlets, surmounted by a 

 rather regular pyramidal head, the lower branches horizontal 

 or declining, often descending to the ground, with a short, 

 stiff, abundant, and bushy spray ; smaller twigs ridgy, widen- 

 ing beneath buds ; foliage a dark shining green ; heads of 

 large trees less regular, rather open, with a general resemblance 

 to the head of the white oak, but narrower at the base, with 

 less contorted limbs. 



Bark. Bark of trunk and larger branches thick, dark 

 grayish-brown, longitudinally striate, with flaky scales ; bark 

 of young stems, branches, and branchlets darker, separating in 

 loose scales which curl back, giving the tree its shaggy aspect ; 

 season's shoots yellowish-green. 



Winter Buds and Leaves. Buds brown, roundish-ovate, 

 obtuse. Leaves simple, alternate, 3-8 inches long, 2-4 wide, 

 downy on both sides when unfolding, at maturity thick and 

 firm, smooth and dark shining green above, slightly to con- 

 spicuously whitish-downy beneath, in autumn brownish-yellow; 

 obovate, coarsely and deeply crenate or obtusely shallow-lobed. 

 when opening sometimes pointed and tapering to a wedge- 

 shaped base, often constricted near the center ; leafstalk 

 short ; stipules linear, soon falling. 



Inflorescence. May. Sterile catkins 2-3 inches long, 

 thread hairy ; calyx deeply 3-7-parted, pale yellow, hairy ; 

 stamens 5-8 ; anthers yellow, glabrous : pistillate flowers 

 tomentose, on rather long, hairy peduncles ; stigmas red. 



