MASSACHUSETTS FOREST TREES 



WHITE OAK 



Leaves and fruit. 

 One-third natural size. 



WHITE OAK (Quercusalba'L.) 



THE White Oak, which receives this appellation 

 because of the light color of the bark on the 

 trunk, grows very commonly in Massachusetts, though 

 it is perhaps less abundant in the western sections than 

 elsewhere. It occurs in a variety of soils and situa- 

 tions, usually on the lighter ground of the uplands, 

 yet sometimes on moist land. 



A tall tree, commonly 

 developing a height of 

 fifty to seventy-five feet 

 and a trunk diameter of 

 three to four feet, it 

 shows a considerable 

 diversity of habit. In 

 the woods it has a tall, 

 single stem, with a nar- 

 row head. In the open 

 the bole is short, and 

 the large, diverging 

 limbs, many of them nearly horizontal, 

 form a broad, round- topped head. 



The bark on the trunk is light ashen- 

 gray and broken into thin, irregular flakes. 

 The leaves are simple, alternate, from 

 four to seven inches in length and usually 

 divided into seven lobes. The upper sur- 

 face of the leaf is bright green and the 

 lower, pale green or whitish. In the autumn 

 WHITE OAK the foliage turns to a deep wine-red. Not 

 infrequently it remains on the tree during 

 the winter. The flowers appear in May 

 when the leaves are half grown. The fruit 

 matures the first season and ripens in September. The 

 acorn is about three-fourths of an inch in length, light 

 chestnut -brown and enclosed for about one-fourth its 

 length in the cup. Its wood is the most valuable of the 

 native trees. It is hard, heavy, tough, close-grained 

 and durable. It is employed for ship-timber, carriage- 

 making, agricultural implements and for furniture and 

 interior finishing. The bark is valuable for tanning. 



Winter twig 

 and buds. 

 One-half 



natural size. 



