OF Ohio 



59 



POST OAK 



Quercus stellata, Wartgenheim 



THE Post Oak was given its name in pioneer days when 

 it was used extensively for posts, a use for which it is 

 well adapted on account of its durability. 



The Post Oak may be recognized at all seasons of the year. 

 Some of its b r o w n 

 leaves usually hang on 

 until the new crop ap- 

 pears. 



The leaves are simple, 

 alternate, coarse, stiff, 

 leathery in texture, 4 to 

 6 inches long. They 

 are dark green and 

 shiny on the upper 

 surface, have a heavy 

 coating of rusty brown 

 hairs on lower surface. 

 Under a magnifying 

 glass the hairs are star- 

 shaped, whence the 

 specific name "stellata." 

 They are usually made 

 up of 5 rounded lobes. 

 The two basal lobes are 

 small, and the three 

 terminal lobes are 

 large and gcncra^lly 

 squarish in outline. 



The fruit is a small acorn maturing in one season. The 

 nut is about 3^ of an inch long, dark brown, often striped. 

 The cup is shallow, covered with pale woolly scales, enclos- 

 ing about one-third of nut. 



The bark is darker, rougher and less scaly than that of 

 White Oak. The twigs are stout, hairy and rusty. The 

 buds are alternate % of an inch long, blunt-pointed, red- 

 dish-brown, clustered at end of twigs. 



The wood is similar to White Oak and used for the same 

 purposes. 



The Post Oak, also called Iron Oak, is found from Massa- 

 chusetts to Kansas and south to Florida and Texas. In 

 Ohio it is found from Licking county southward. It oc- 

 curs mostly on the hills of southeastern Ohio. Gravelly up- 

 lands, limestone hills and sandy plains are its principal 

 habitat. It is a medium-sized tree, rarely exceeding 60 feet 

 in height and 3 feet in diameter. 



POST OAK 

 One-third natural eize. 



