﻿Trees of New York State 175 



FAGACEAE 



Quercus alba L. 



White Oak 



Habit — A valuable timber species, usually attaining a height of 60-SO feet 

 ■^•ith a trunk 2-4 feet in diameter, under optimum conditions sometimes 

 140 feet tall. Trees in dense forest stands hare long, clean boles -with 

 little taper, bearing aloft a narrow crown. In the open the bole is short 

 and stout and soon breaks up into massive, gnarled, wide-spreading limbs 

 and slender rigid branches to form a broad, open, irregular eroA^ni. 



Leaves — Alternate, obovate-oblong, 5-9 inches long, 2—4 inches wide, cuneate 

 at the base, 3-9-lobed, the lobes ascending and blunt and separated by 

 A\"ide, rounded sinuses which are shallow or may extend nearly to the 

 midrib. Upper lobes irregular, often \vith secondary' lobes at the apex. 

 At maturity leaves thin, firm, glabrous, dull or lustrous and bright green 

 above, paler, smooth and sometimes glaucous beneath. Petioles stout, 

 glabrous, ^^-1 inch long. 



Flowers — In our range appearing in late May or early Jiuie when the leaves 

 are about one-third gro^Ti, monoecious. Staminate flowers ebracteolate, 

 in interrupted, filiform, pendulous, deciduous aments 2i/^-3 inches long 

 which are borne on the growth of the preceding season or from the axils 

 of the inner scales of the terminal bud. Calyx campanulate, bright yel- 

 low, pubescent, acutely lobed. Stamens 4-6, with filiform exserted fila- 

 ments and yellow, notched anthers. • Pistillate flowers solitary, peduncu- 

 late or nearly sessile, borne in the axils of the leaves of the season, each 

 subtended by broadly ovate, hairy involucral scales. Calyx urn-shaped, 

 shallowly lobed, adnate to the ovary. Pistil consisting of a 3-celled 

 (rarely 4-5-celled) ovary surmounted by 3 short, dilated, spreading, red 

 styles stigmatie on the inner surface. 



Fruit — A sessile or pedunculate aconi, ripening the first season. Xut ovoid- 

 oblong, light chestnut-brown and lustrous at maturity, rounded at the 

 apex, about % of an inch long, enclosed about one-fourth its length in 

 the cup. Cup bowl-shaped, somewhat pubescent ^"ithin, consisting of 

 numerous scales, those at the base thickened and tubereulate. 



Winter characters — T^^■igs rather slender, pale-lentieellate, lustrous or 

 somewhat glaucous, reddish gray becoming ashy gray the second season. 

 Buds alternate, those near the branch-tip clustered about the terminal 

 bud, broadly ovate, obtuse, reddish brown, about % of an inch long. 

 Mature bark light gray or nearly white, thick, divided by shallow fissures 

 into long, irregular, thin scales. 



Habitat- — A cosmopolitan species gTo^^■ing on sandy soil, on moist bottom- 

 lands, rich uplands, and stony ridges, preferring rich nioist soil. 



Range — IMame to Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas. Zones A, B, 

 and C. 



Uses — An important lumber species producing the best grade of oak timber. 

 Wood, hard, hea\'y, strong, durable, pale brown with lighter sapwood. 

 Prized for furniture, tight cooperage, wagoury, railroad ties, etc. 



