The Trees of Vermont 125 



FAGACEAE 



Red Oak 

 Quercus rubra L. 



Habit. — A large tree 70-80 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 

 2-4 feet ; forming a broad, rounded crown of a few large, wide-spread- 

 ing branches and slender branchlets. 



Leaves. — Alternate, simple, 5-9 inches long, 4-6 inches broad ; 

 oval to obovate ; 5-11-lobed with coarse-toothed, bristle-tipped lobes 

 tapering from broad bases and wide, oblique, rounded sinuses ; thin 

 and firm; dull dark green above, paler beneath; petioles stout, 1-2 

 inches long. 



Flowers. — May, when the leaves are half grown ; monoecious ; the 

 staminate in hairy catkins 4-5 inches long; the pistillate on short, 

 glabrous peduncles ; calyx 4-5-lobed, greenish ; corolla ; stamens 4-5, 

 with yellow anthers ; stigmas long, spreading, bright green. 



Fruit. — Autumn of second season ; sessile or short-stalked acorns ; 

 cup shallow, saucer-shaped, inclosing only the base of the nut; scales 

 closely appressed, more or less glossy, puberulous, bright red-brown ; 

 nut oblong-ovoid with a broad base, about 1 inch long, red-brown ; 

 kernel white, very bitter. 



Winter-buds. — Terminal bud ^4 '^ich long, ovoid, acute, light 

 brown, smooth. 



Bark. — Twigs lustrous, green, becoming reddish, finally dark 

 brown ; young trunks smooth, gray-brown ; old trunks darker, shallowly 

 fissured into thin, firm, broad ridges ; inner bark light red, not bitter. 

 Plate V. 



Wood. — Heavy, hard, strong, coarse-grained, light red-brown, 

 with thin, darker colored sapwood. Page 230. 



Distribution. — Common throughout Vermont at altitudes below 

 1,000 feet. 



Habitat. — Grows well in all well-drained soils ; rich and pnov soil. 



Notes. — The red oak is the most northern of all the oaks, ranging 

 from Nova Scotia to Tennessee. It is distributed generally through 

 the Champlain and lower Connecticut valleys where it is the most com- 

 mon oak. It is less common in the northern part of the Connecticut 

 valley. The flowers appear in May but the sessile, shallow-cupped 

 acorns do not ripen until the second autumn. The wood is lighter in 

 weight and more brittle than that of the white oak but when quartered 

 shows a beautiful grain and is used for furniture. It is valued also 

 for bridge posts where there is to be exposure to water. The wood 

 dries out slowly and is inferior as fuel. 



