THE OAKS WITH ACORNS. 



153 



The leaf is similar in shape and character to that 



of the foregoing species, hut it is extremely woolly 



beneath. It is also blunt {not wedge-shaped) 



at the base. In autumn it turns a rich 



dark-red color. The acorn grows 



solitary or in pairs, and has a 



very rough, shallow cup, and 



a sweet, edible nut. 



This tree is one of the 

 most valuable and beautiful 

 of the chestnut oaks. It is 

 easily identified by its flaky, 

 silvery - gray bark, and its 

 tall, massive trunk. It 

 grows in swamps and beside 

 streams, from Wilmington, 

 Del., southward to north- 

 ern Florida, and 

 extends from In- 

 diana and Missouri 

 southward to Texas 

 and the Gulf. 

 The chestnut oak grows from 60 to 

 70 and occasionally 100 feet high, 

 and has leaves which somewhat resemble those of the 

 chestnut tree. They are orange-green when young, 

 and decidedly yellow-green when mature. In the 



Basket Oak 



Chestnut Oak. 



Quercus Prinus. 



