CCl'ULlFERil!',. S40 ftUERCUS. 



ORDER CXXVI. CUPULIFER^. The Oak Tribe. 



Flowers generally rnoncerious. Sterile in aments, fertile solitary, or 2 or 3 Together, 



Cal. — t^eprils regular and membranous, or scale-like. [or in fascicles. 



ata. — 1 — 3 limes as many as the sepals, inserted into their bases, [several ovules in each. 



Ofc— Adherent, seated within a coriaceous involucruni (cupule), with several cells and 



iitig. — Several, subsessile, distinct. 



Fr. — A bony or coriaceous nvit, more or less enclosed in the cupule. 



t-ris. — 1, 2, or 3 (most of the ovules being abortive,) pendulous. Albumen 0. 



JSmbryo large. Cotyledons fleshy, plano-convex, ivarfirie minute, superior. 



Trees and shrubs. Leaves stipulate, ahernate, simple, straight-veined (veins proceeding- 

 straight from the midrib to the margin). The Cupuliferx constitute a large portion of the 

 lorenls of the northern lemperate regions, and of mountainous tracts within the tropics. 



Fropntirs. 'J'lie bulk of the oak and oilier genera is well known for its astringent quali- 

 ties. The edible fruit of the ka-J.t-mit, chestnut, beechnut, ^'c., are too well known to require 

 description. Cork is the bark of Quercus Suber. Nut-galls are produced from the petioles 

 oi' Q. intectoria of Asia Minor, being caused by wounds made by insects. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



fin an echinate, valvate cupule, and ovoid-compressed. Castanea. 2 



J in a muricate, valvaie cupule, and sharply 3-angled. . Fagus. 3 



I in a hairy, i coriaceous involucrate cupule. . . . Conjhcs. 4 



f enveloped I inflated, .. I membranous, closed cupule. . . . Ostrya. 5 



< (acorn) partly immersed in a scaly cupule. Quercus. 1 



Nut (naked, concealed in the a.\il of a foliaceous bract Carpimts. S 



1. QUERCUS. 

 Sterile Jl. in a loose ameiit ; caljx mostly 5-cleft ; stamens 

 5 — 10. Ferlileji. — Cupule cup-shaped, scaly; calyx incor- 

 porated with the ovary, 6-!obed; ovary 3-celled, 2 of the 

 cells ahortive ; style 1 ; stigmas 3; nut (acorn) coriaceous, 

 1-celled, 1-seeded, surrounded at the base by the enlarged, 

 cup-shaped, scaly-cupule. 



Celtic, qucr, fine, and cuez, a tree ; so called emphatically, because the 

 sacred missletoe grew upon it. The more common Celtic name was dcrio ; 

 hence druid. A noble genus of trees, rarely shrubs. Aments axillary, pen- 

 dulous, filiform, with the flowers distinct. 



■" Fructificatioia annual. Leaves not mucronate, t lobed. 



1. Q. ALBA. 



Leaves oblong, pinnatifid-sinuate, smooth ; lohcs linear-oblong, obtuse, entire, 

 dilated upwards ; fruit pedunculate, cup deep, warty, acorn ovate. The while 

 oak grows in woods throughout the U. H. and Canada, and for grandeur, 

 strength and usefulness, stands preeminent among the sons of the forest. 

 With a diameter of 5 — G feet it attains the hight of 70 — SO, but its magnitude 

 varies with the soil and climate. Leaves obliquely divided into rounded, 

 obtuse and entire lobes, not terminated by mucronate points, pubescent 

 beneath when young. Fruit rather large. Bark white, often with dark spots. 

 The trunk yields timber of great value for strength and durability. It is 

 extensively employed in ship-building, in coopering, in carriage making, 

 in ploughs, mills, &c. The bark is useful in tanning, and in medicine. 

 May. White Oak. 



2. Q. OBTUSTLO'bA. Mx. Q. stcllata. L. 

 Leaves oblong, sinuate, cuneiform at the base, pubescent beneath; lobes 



obtuse, the ujiper one dilated, ^-lolied ; calyx hemispherical ; acorn oval. 

 The iion oak, called al.so y;^.^; oak, box icldtc onk, tiirhey oak, ^c, is common 

 in the Middle and Southern Stales, rare in N". England. It is a tree of mod- 

 erate size, with widely spreading and very crooked branches. The bark is 



