88 Native Trees oj Canada 



The twigs are reddish-brown in colour, stout, smooth, and somewhat bitter 

 to the taste when chewed. As compared with those of the white oak they are more 

 ridged. 



The winter buds are a Hght chestnut-brown shade, pointed, and }^ to 3^ in. 

 long. They are long in proportion to their width. The margin of the scale is pale, 

 a feature which assists in distinguishing the buds from those of the red oak. 



The leaves are 5 to 9 in. long and 3 to 4 in. wide. In appearance the leaf 

 resembles somewhat that of the chestnut tree. The points on the margin are, 

 however, more rounded, and, the notches being of uniform depth, the outline has 

 more of a wavy than a toothed appearance. 



The nut is a bright chestnut-brown, oval, two to three times as long as broad. 

 The kernel is sweet. The cup is thin, top-shaped and rarely covers more than one- 

 third of the nut. The outside of the cup is knobby. 



In Canada the chestnut oak has a very limited range, being found only in 

 Ontario; and only in that part of the province that borders lakes Erie and St. Clair. 

 It grows on well-drained slopes and ridges along with shagbark hickory, red oak, 

 and various other hardwoods. 



The wood of the chestnut oak is usually considered to be inferior to that of the 

 other white oaks. The same opinion is held of the wood of the chinquapin oak 

 but neither the chestnut oak nor the chinquapin oak is commercially important in 

 Canada. 



QUERCUS VELUTINA, Lam. BLACK OAK 



Common names: Black oak, yellow oak*, yellow -barked oak, red 



oak*. 

 French names: Chene des teinturiers, chene noir. 



The black oak is confined to southwestern Ontario, where it is found growing 

 on the poorer gravelly and sandy soils. 



It is a large tree 60 to 70 ft. high and 2 to 3 ft. in thickness through the trunk. 

 Growing in the open it develops a crown sometimes tall and narrow, and at other 

 times wide and spreading. When sawn into lumber it is sold as red oak. 



The bark is a very dark brown or almost black on old trees. It is very deeply 

 furrowed and considerably rougher than that of either the red or scarlet oaks. 

 l*he yellow, bitter, inner hark, which will colour the saliva if chewed, is a good 

 distinguishing feature of this tree. The reddish-brown twigs will also colour the 

 saliva. 



The winter buds are brown and yi to J^ in. long. They are larger and more 

 angled in cross-section than those of the scarlet or red oaks, and are completely 

 covered with pale red down. 



The leaves are 4 to 6 in. long and 3 to 5 in. wide. The lobes are bristly- 

 pointed and the notches are deep. The notches are deeper and the lobes narrower 



