60 



Common Trees 



T 



CHESTNUT OAK 



Quercus Prinus, Engelmann 



HE Chestnut Oak, also called Rock Oak and Tanbark 

 Oak, is an important forest tree. 



The leaves are simple, alternate, stiff, 5 to 9 inches long, 

 2 to 4 inches wide, coarse- 

 ly toothed along margin. 



The flowers are similar 

 and the wood ranks close 

 to White Oak. 



The fruit is a large 

 acorn, maturing in one 

 season. The nut is 1 to 

 1 ^2 inches long, oval, 

 smooth, glossy, chestnut- 

 brown. The cup is thin, 

 deep, hairy inside, covers 

 one-third of nut. 



The bark on young 

 stems and branches is 

 smooth, thin, yellowish- 

 brown. On old trunks it 

 is thick, brown to black, 

 deeply furrowed. The 

 bark ridges are high, 

 sharp and angular. At 

 the bottom of the fur- «T,^r.»,»r„m ^.^ 



, , , . . CHESTNUT OAK 



rows the bark is Cmna- One-tWrd natural site, 



mon red. It is rich in Twig section and bud scales, enlarged. 



tannin. 



The twigs are slender, angular, orange-brown. The buds 

 are light brown, }i to y2 of an inch long, sharp-pointed, 

 and clustered at tip of twigs. 



The Chestnut Oak is found from Maine to Ontario, south 

 to Alabama and Tennessee. It reaches its best development 

 in the Alleghenies of Pennsylvania and southward. In Ohio 

 it reaches its best development in the unglaciated southeastern 

 part. It occurs sparingly in Licking and Cuyahoga counties. 



A closely related tree occurring in southern Ohio is the 

 Yellow Oak — Quercus Muhlenbergii, Engelmann. This 

 tree, also called Chinquapin Oak, Pigeon Oak and Sweet Oak, 

 is limited largely to the main valleys and the bordering lower 

 slopes. It is most abundant in southwestern, infrequent in 

 southeastern Ohio, and rarely found north of Columbus. . . 



