74 WOODY PLANTS 



stroyed by chestnut blight (Fig, 62 ). 



2. C_. pumila (L. ) Mill. Chinquapin. A spreading shrub or 

 small tree 6-10 m. high, 3-6 dm. in diameter ;bark lightly furrowed, 

 with flat ridges broken into light brown loose plates; "bur" 4 cm. 

 in diameter or less; nut ovoid, not flattened, quite sweet, but 

 scarcely half as large as the chestnut. Dry woods and thickets, 

 Florida to Texas, north to Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Arkan- 

 sas (Fig. 63). I 



QUERCUS L. (Fagaceae) 



Mostly deciduous trees or shrubs, the dried leaves often 

 somewhat persistent through the winter (marcescent). Twigs 

 moderate or slender, grooved; pith moderate, continuous, star- 

 shaped in cross section. Buds solitary, sessile, clustered toward 

 the tips of the branches, with numerous scales. Leaf-scars alter- 

 nate, half-roimd; bundle-traces nimierous, scattered; stipule-scars 

 small. Fruit an acorn (a nut surrounded at its base by a cup-like 

 involucre). The species hybridize freely and are sometimes dif- 

 ficult to distinguish. In addition to bud and twig characters, the 

 key makes use of leaves and fruits, some of which are often pre- 

 sent in winter. 



a. Leaves deciduous 



b. Largest terminal buds mostly 6-9 

 mm. long, usually acute 



c. Buds distinctly angled in cross 

 section 



d. Buds mostly glabrous, dull 



straw-colored 13. Q. shumardii 



d. Buds pubescent, dark red or 



gray 



e. Buds whitish-pubescent near 



the apex, sometimes obtuse 12. Q. coccinea 



e. Buds gray— or rusty- tomen- 

 tose, long (often 10 mm. long), 

 acute 



f. Buds gray-tomentose;twlgs 



often shiny 14. Q. velutina 



f. Buds rusty-tomentose; twigs 

 usually dull, often scurfy- 

 pubescent 17. Q. marilandica I 



