1876 
ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART Il 
in particular districts of very poor soil, where, alone or mingled 
with the bear oak (Q. Banisteri), it sometimes covers tracts of more 
than 100 acres inextent. It was introduced in 1823; but is rarely 
to be met with in plantations: Pursh states that it is highly orna- 
mental when in full bloom; and Michaux observes that it might 
probably be cultivated along with Q. Banister? for its fruit, which, 
as before observed, is very sweet. From the small size of the plant, 
this variety is well deserving of culture for suburban or small 
villa gardens, and miniature arboretums. 
* Q. P. 5 tomentosa Michx. F). Bor. Amer., ii. p. 196., Quer., No. 5. t. 9. 
f.2.; Q. P. discolor Miche. fil. Arb., ii. p. 46. t. 6., N. Amer. Syl., 
i. p. 43. t. 7., and our jig. 1739., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836; Q. bicolor 
Willd. Sp. Pl., iv. p.440., Pursh Fl. 
Amer. Sept., ii. p. 633., N. Du Ham., 
vii. p.165., Smith in Rees’s Cyel., No. 
50.; Q. Michatx: Nutt. ‘The Swamp 
white Oak.—Leaves almost sessile, 
obtusely oval, bluntly toothed; 
downy beneath. (Michx.) The 
swamp white oak, in America, says 
the younger Michaux, is a beautiful 
tree, more than 70 ft. high, of a 
vigorous habit of growth, and with 
luxuriant foliage. The leaves are 
from 6in. to 8in. long, and 4 in. ¢ 
broad; entire towards the base, 
which is attenuated and wedge- 
shaped; but dilated and coarsely 
toothed for two thirds of their length. 
The tree is distinguished, when full grown, by the remarkable 
appearance of its leaves, which are on the under side silky, and 
and of a silvery whiteness; while the upper side is smooth, and of a 
bright green. It was from this striking contrast that Dr. Miihlen- 
berg gave this tree the specific name of dfscolor. The acorns are 
sweet, but seldom abundant; they are long, of a clear chestnut 
brown, and contained in rather shallow scaly cups, edged with 
short slender filaments. These cups are “more downy within than 
those of any other oak;” and they are borne in pairs, on peduncles 
of from lin. to 2in. in length. The bark is scaly, and of a greenish 
white. With the exception of the district of Maine, and the mari- 
time parts of the southern provinces, Michaux informs us that this 
oak is diffused throughout the whole of the United States. “ In - 
comparison, however, with several other species, it is not common, 
being found only on the edges of swamps, and in wet places exposed 
to inundations, and not in the forests at large.” It generally grows in 
company with Q. palistris, A‘cer rubrum, Nyssa aquatica, and Carya 
alba; and, in British plantations, would thrive in the same situations 
as the alder and poplar. This species appears to have been dis- 
covered by the elder Michaux, who has figured a leaf of it under 
the name of Q. P. tomentdsa; but when it was introduced into 
Britain is uncertain, though, in all probability, it would be about the 
same time as Q. P. monticola, viz. in 1800. The wood is strong, 
elastic, and heavier than that of the white oak. In full-grown trees, 
the grain is fine and close, and the pores are not visible to the naked 
eye : it splits easily, andin a straight line; and, according to Michaux, 
it is esteemed next in quality to the American white oak, though, 
from its rareness, it is but seldom employéd for economical pur- 
poses. There is a tree of this species in the arboretum at Messrs. 
Loddiges’s, and one in the Horticultural Society’s Garden, under 
