HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



Post oak is botaiiically and commercially 

 a white oak and is seldom distinguished from 

 the true white oak, Quercus alba, in commerce. 

 It is seen at its best in the uplands of the Mis- 

 sissippi basin and in the Gulf states west of 

 the Mississippi, where it attains a consider- 

 able size. In the northeastern states and 

 in Florida it is small, becoming shrubby in 

 some localities, and more or less of 

 local growth. Limestone uplands or 

 dry, sandy or gravelly soils seem to 

 offer the best conditions for its exist- 

 ence, where it grows in company 

 with Black Jack, red and white oak, 

 sassafras, dogwood, gums and red 

 cedar. 



The range of growth of post oak 

 extends from New Brunswick south 

 through the Atlantic states into 

 Florida; west through the Gulf 

 states and throughout the Missis- 

 sippi River system, growing west 

 brokenly to Montana. It is the com- 

 mon oak of Texas but in the North 

 is rather scarce, becoming more plen- 

 tiful in the lower Appalachians. 



Post oak is the most common name 

 for this tree but various sections of 

 its range have given it their own 

 names which probably have local sig- 

 nificance. The following names are 

 in use in the localities denoted: post 

 oak in the eastern and Gulf states, 

 Connecticut to Texas and in Arkan- 

 sas and West Virginia; box white 

 oak in Rhode Island; iron oak in 

 Delaware, Mississippi and Nebraska; 

 chene etoile in Quebec; overcup oak 

 in Florida; white oak in Kentucky 

 and Indiana; box oak and brash oak 

 in Maryland. 



The broad, dense, round-topped 

 crown of the post oak with its pecu- 

 liar foliage make it very noticeable 

 in the woods, even to the casual 

 observer. The tree has an average 

 height of sixty to eighty feet and is 

 about two feet in diameter, but in 

 exceptional cases it reaches one hun- 

 dred feet in height and has a diam- 

 eter of three feet. It has a moder- 

 ately thick, dark brown bark with 

 a reddish tinge and deep fissures, the 

 broad ridges being covered with thin 

 scales. On the branches it becomes 

 much thinner and lighter in color, 

 the branchlets being unfissured and glabrous 

 in the second year, although fuzzy at first. 

 They are rather heavy and rounded and ter- 

 minate in short round buds with conspicuous 

 scales. A noticeable feature of the tree is 

 the peculiar branching. The branches are 

 heavy and crooked, separating often, . with 

 wide angles, forming knees which when big 

 enough, have a commercial value. 



AMERICAN FOREST TREES 



EIGHTIETH PAPER 



Post Oak 



Quercun Minor (MarsU) Sargent. 



When the tree is in foliage the tufted ap- 

 pearance of the leaves grouped on the ends 

 of the twigs gives it a distinctive look. The 

 leaves are five to seven inches long usually, 

 but in some cases, especially on young speci- 

 mens, are ten inches or more in length. They 

 are dark, shiny green and on a short petiole, 

 the veins and mid-rib being heavy and con- 



FOIiEiST TYl'E I'OST OAK. MORGAN COUNTY, KENTUCKY. 



spicuous. The identification of these leaves 

 is easy as they are heavy in texture, are 

 bi-laterally developed with a large, obtuse 

 lobe on each side about in the middle, giv- 

 ing them a maltese cross effect, a triangular 

 basal section, deep sinuses and rounded lobes. 

 They are very persistent, staying on the 

 tree until the new leaves push them off in 

 the spring. 



The post oak is a monoecious tree and 

 flowers in May. The staminate flowers are 

 in aments three to four inches long, the 

 calyx yellow and hirsute, while the pistil- 

 late flowers are either sessile or stalked 

 and have ovate scales, hirsute on the mar- 

 gins, and red stigmas. 



Like the other white oak acorns, those of 

 the post oak are sweet and edible, 

 occurring every year. They are 

 usually sessile, are broadly ovate 

 and about three-quarter inches long, 

 l>eing covered for two-thirds of the 

 length with the scaly cup. The crop 

 is usually profuse and in 1900 this 

 was the only mast oak. 



When, cut this tree shows a light 

 to dark brown heart and a thick, 

 lighter colored sap. The wood is 

 close grained, hard, strong and dur- 

 able in contact with the soil. In 

 seasoning it is liable to check, and 

 great care must be taken to get good 

 results. It is adaptable to the same 

 uses as true white oak, its distinct 

 medullary rays giving it an excellent 

 figure, and when used as lumber it 

 is often quarter-sawn. Its hardness 

 and durability give it an extensive 

 use in cooperage, as wagon and fur- 

 niture stock, for construction pur- 

 poses and for fencing, for agricul- 

 tural implements, ties, poles and 

 other uses which require oak of high 

 character. Its use as fuel is general. 

 One cubic foot of the seasoned 

 wood weighs 52 pounds, and one 

 thousand board feet about 4,350 

 pounds; the specific gravity is .8367. 

 Based on kilograms and square cen- 

 timeters, the coefficient of elasticity 

 is 83257; the modulus of rupture is 

 S72; and the longitudinal resistance 

 is 487. The post oak comes under 

 the classification of ring-porous 

 woods and shows rather small rings 

 of annual growth. 



Of the two other botanical names 

 for this tree, Quereus obtvsiloba 

 (Miehx.) is inspired by the blunt, 

 rounded lobes of the leaves, and 

 Qiiercus stellata (Wang.) might be 

 derived from the star-like leaf clus- 

 ters at the ends of the twigs or from 

 the peculiar, five pronged branching 

 of the hairs on the upper leaf sur- 

 as seen under a glass. 

 The half-tone picture of the forest type of 

 growth of post oak shown in connection with 

 this article is from a photograph made by 

 tie editor of Hardwood Recoed in Morgan 

 county, Kentucky. 



The leaf shown in connection with this 

 article is a half-tone made directly from a 

 post oak leaf from a tree which grew in the 



fac 



