138 



SILVA OF NORTH AMERICA. 



CUPULIFER-S:. 



or into 



ated nearly entire mueronate lobes tap 



& 



adually from a broad base; or they are 



1 



lightly divided into broad dentate lobes or are sinuate-dentate ; the terminal lobe is oblong, elongated, 

 LCiite, and furnished with large or small lateral teeth, or it is broad, generally rounded and coarsely 

 epandly dentate ] when they unfold the leaves are bright crimson, covered above with long loose scattered 



d coated below vrith thick pale or silvery 



tomentum 



lob 



being tipped with 



tufts of long pale ha 



half grown the leaves, Hke the young shoots, are hoary-pubescent, and 



fully grown they are thick and firm or subcoriaceous, dark green and 



on 



the 



upper sur- 



face, and yellow-green, brownish or dull copper-color on the lower, which is more or less thickly clothed 



th close pubescence, or is sometimes tomentose, or glabrous 



1 



iption of tufts of rusty 



the axils of the principal 



usually five or six inches long and three or four inches wide, they vary 



from three to twelve inches in leno^h and from two to ten inches in width, with stout midribs and 



vf^ins arcuate near the thickened 



primary veins raised and roiinfled on the upper side^ slender secondary 

 revolute margins^ and conspicuous reticulate veinlets ; they 



are 



b 



on 



yellow glabrous or 



puberulous petioles generally flattened on the upper side and from three to six inches long^ and 

 the autumn turn dull red, dark orange-color or brown, and fall gradually during the winter 



The 



stipules are linear-obovate or linear-lanceolate, coated with pale hairs, brown and scarious^ and about an 

 inch in length. The flowers appear when the leaves are nearly half grown^ the staminate borne in the 

 axils of linear acute villous brown scarious and caducous bracts in tomentose or pubescent aments from 

 four to six inches in length, and the pistillate on short tomentose peduncles. The calyx of the staminate 



elongated stout umbo ; it is light reddish brown, 



flower is coated with pale hairs, and in the bud is green tinged with red and furnished at the apex with 

 a tuft of pale hairs ; the lobes are ovate acute and shorter than the stamens, which are usually four in 

 number with ovate acute apiculate glabrous yellow anthers. The bud of the pistillate flower is bright 

 red, coated with soft pale pubescence, and tipped by a tuft of pale hairs ; the involucral scales are 

 ovate and shorter than the acute hirsute calyx-lobes, and the stigmas are reflexed and bright red. The 

 fruit, which ripens in the autumn of the second year, is sessile or borne on a short thick peduncle rarely 

 more than half an inch in length, and is solitary or in pairs ; the nut is ovate-oblong, obovate, oval 

 or hemispherical, broad and rounded at the base and full and rounded at the apex which is some- 

 times depressed and is crowned with a short or 

 often striate, frequently coated with soft rufous pubescence, and from one half to three quarters of an 

 inch in length ; the cup, which embraces about half the nut, is thin, deeply cup-shaped or turbinate, 

 dark red-brown and puberulous on the inner surface, and covered by thin light chestnut-brown ovate 

 acute scales clothed with hoary pubescence ; at the base of the cup these are usually closely appressed, 

 but above its middle are loosely imbricated with free scarious tips which form a fringe-like border 



to its rim. 



Querciis vehithui^ which inhabits dry graveUy uplands and ridges, is distributed from the coast of 

 southern Maine to northern Vermont, southern and western Ontario,^ and central Minnesota,^ and 

 southward to northern Florida, southern Alabama and Mississippi, eastern Kansas, the Indian Territory, 

 and eastern Texas. One of the commonest species on the gravelly drift of the southern New England 

 and Middle States, and in the foothiU regions of the southern Appalachian Mountains, where it some- 

 times forms a large part of the forest-growth, it is also abundant in all parts of the Mississippi basin, 

 probably growing to its largest size in the valley of the lower Ohio River.^ It is the only species of the 

 Red Oak group which reaches the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts, where, although not common and 

 never gregarious, it is generally scattered on dry ridges through the maritime Pine belt. 



The wood of Qiierciis veliitina is heavy, hard, and strong, although not tough, coarse-grained, and 

 liable to check in drying ; it is bright brown tinged with red, with thin Hghter colored sap wood, and 



contains consj)icuous meduUary rays and broad bands of several rows of 



large 



open ducts plainly 



Macoun, Cat Can, PL 443, 

 Macniillan, Metaspermce of 



Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat Mus. v. 84 



