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MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 27 
and pale on their under surface when mature, and often per- 
sist over winter. The wood is strong and very hard, tough, 
close-grained, and durable, and is used extensively in ship- 
building, in the manufacture of carriages, agricultural imple- 
ments, railway ties, baskets, in fences, interior finish, cabinet 
making, cooperage, and for fuel. A decoction of the inner 
bark has been employed medicinally in cases of hemorrhage 
and dysentery. The white oak is a fine tree for ornamental 
planting where it can be given sufficient room for develop- 
ment. 
Habitat: dry upland woods, Maine to Ontario, Minnesota 
and southward. 
Quercus stellata (post oak).—The wood of the post oak 
closely resembles that of the white oak and is used for the 
same purposes, although considered inferior. It is a smaller 
tree than the white oak, its maximum height not exceeding 60 
fect, with a trunk diameter of 3 feet. It forms a dense, broad, 
round-topped crown, with wide-spreading branches. The post 
oak may be distinguished from the other oaks by the peculiar 
form of its leaves which have 3 large terminal lobes and 1 
basal lobe, making them wedge-shaped in outline. The upper 
surface of the leaves is shiny, bright green, the lower surface 
pale and covered with a rusty pubescence. The buds are 
more reddish in color than those of the white oak. The post 
oak will grow in poorer soil than the white oak and is gen- 
erally found on dry flats and hills. 
Habitat: Pennsylvania to Kansas, south to Florida and 
Texas. 
Quercus alba X stellata (hybrid oak).—One tree near Allen- 
ton, Mo. In every respect intermediate between the parents. 
Quercus lyrata (swamp post oak).—A large tree with a 
symmetrical round head and small pendulous branches. The 
maximum height is from 70 to 100 feet, and the trunk diam- 
eter is about 314 feet. The leaves are bright green and 
shiny above, white-downy beneath, turning scarlet and orange 
in autumn, obovate, narrowed at the base, with 3-5 pairs of 
lobes. This species is easily recognized by its button-like 
acorns which are usually completely covered by the cup. The 
wood is hard, strong, tough, and durable, and is used for 
the same purposes as the white oak. 
