DENDROLOGY. 273 



This oak expands to a majestic size, and the influence of a 

 deep and constantly humid soil is shown in the luxuriancy of its 

 vegetation. On the banks of the Savannah it attains the 

 elevation of 80 feet with a circumference of 8 to 12 feet. The 

 leaves are six or eight inches long, smooth, narrow, lyre-shaped, 

 deeply sinuated, and borne by short petioles. The lobes, 

 particularly the two upper ones, are truncated, and from their 

 resemblance in this respect to those of the post oak, is derived 

 the name of Swamp Post Oak. The foliage is thick and of a 

 light, agreeable tint. It fructifies annually and flowers in the 

 month of May. The acorns, unlike those of the oaks in 

 general which are of an elongated, oval shape, are broad, round 

 and depressed at the summit : they are sometimes from 12 to 18 

 lines from the base to the summit. The cup, which is nearly 

 closed, is thin, and its scales are terminated by short, firm 

 points. 



The bark upon the trunk is w T hite, and the wood, though 

 inferior to that of the white oak and the post oak, is more 

 compact than would be supposed from the soil in which it grows ; 

 the pores are observable only between the concentric circles, 

 and are more regularly disposed than in other trees. 



35 



