MASSACHUSETTS FOREST TREES 



SWAMP WHITE OAK (Quercus platanoides Sud.) 



THIS species gets its popular designation, Swamp 

 White Oak, from its resemblance to the White 

 Oak and its frequent fondness for swampy situations. 

 Growing in rich soil along streams and swamps, it 

 occurs throughout the State and is rather common in 

 some of the eastern sections. In habit it bears a gen- 

 eral likeness to the White Oak, though its branches 

 are not so spreading and its head is less reg- 

 ular and narrower. Ordinarily its height is 

 from forty to fifty feet and its diameter is 

 from two to three feet. 



The bark on the trunk 

 is grayish-b r o w n and 

 deeply and irregularly 

 divided into broad, flat 

 ridges. The bark of the 

 White Oak is somewhat 

 lighter and the scales finer. 

 On the young branches 

 the scales hang loosely, 

 giving a marked appear- 

 ance to the tree. 



The leaves are simple, 

 alternate, obovate or ob- 

 long, four to six inches 

 long, scalloped or slightly 

 lobed and dark, lustrous green on the upper 

 surface. W H A E 



The flowers appear in May when the leaves winter twig 



and buds. 



are partially grown. n ^urlfsSe 



The fruit ripens the first season. The 

 acorn is about one inch long, light chestnut-brown in 

 color and enclosed in the cup for about one-third its 

 length. 



Its wood is very similar to that of the White Oak 

 and only slightly inferior in quality. It is used in 

 construction, in carriage-building, for interior finish- 

 ing, for furniture and for fuel. 



SWAMP WHITE OAK 



Leaf and fruit. One-third 

 natural size. 



