Important Forest Trees of the United States 



793 



89. Beech. 



90. Chestnut. 



89. Beech. 



90. Chestnut. 



Principal uses: Same as No. 86. 



vv. Leaves less than three times as long as wide 

 CHERRY (Prunus) . 



88. BLACK CHERRY, Prunus serotina Ehrh. (wild black cherry, wild cherry, rum cherry, 

 cherry; Padus virginiana auth. ). 



Medium-sized to large tree of eastern half of United States and adjacent Canada. Bark 

 dark reddish brown, smooth at first, becoming irregularly fissured and scaly. Leaves oblong, 



2 to 5 inches long, long-pointed, finely toothed, shiny dark green above, light green beneath. 

 Flowers white, J4 inch long, in spring. Fruits edible cherries % inch in diameter, black. 



Principal uses: Furniture and printers' blocks for mounting electrotype plates. Shade 

 tree. Edible wild cherries. 



uu. Leaves coarsely toothed, with parallel lateral veins; 



fruit a spiny bur with edible nuts, 

 w. Leaves about twice as long as wide BEECH (Fagus}. 



89. BEECH, Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. (American beech; F. americana Sweet, F. 

 ferruginea Ait.) 



Large tree of eastern third of United States and adjacent Canada. Bark blue gray, thin, 

 smooth. Leaves in 2 rows, oval, 2]/2 to 5 inches long, long-pointed, coarsely toothed, the 

 lateral veins parallel, dark blue green above and light green beneath, usually smooth or 

 nearly so. Fruit a shiny bur 94 inch long containing 2 or 3 triangular, edible nuts l /z to Y* 

 inch long, known as beechnuts. 



Principal uses: Food containers, chairs and other furniture, handles, flooring, wooden- 

 ware and novelties, laundry appliances, etc. Also distillation products, railroad ties, veneer, 

 pulpwood, cooperage, and fuel. Beechnuts. Shade tree. 



ww. Leaves about three times as long as wide 

 CHESTNUT (Castanea}. 



90. CHESTNUT, Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh. (American chestnut). 



Large tree of Appalachian Mountain and Ohio Valley regions ; also in southern Ontario ; 

 now almost exterminated by the chestnut blight. Bark dark brown, irregularly fissured into 

 broad, flat ridges. Leaves narrowly oblong, 5 to 9 inches long and 1 1 /2 to 3 inches wide, 

 long-pointed, coarsely toothed with slightly curved teeth, many parallel lateral veins, 

 yellow green, smooth. Fruit a spiny bur 2 to 2J/2 inches in diameter, containing 2 or 



3 broad, flattened, edible nuts l /z to 1 inch wide, known as chestnuts. 



Principal uses: The wood, largely from blight-killed trees, is the main domestic source 

 of tannin. Lumber for construction and for manufacture of furniture, caskets, and boxes 

 and crates. Pulpwood. Chestnuts. The leaves are an official drug. 



ff (f on p. 784). Winter buds 3 or more in cluster at tip of twig; pith of 

 twigs star-shaped in cross section; fruit an acorn OAK (Quercus). 



Twenty species of eastern oaks included here have commercially important wood. 



Principal uses: Oaks are the most important hardwood timbers of the United States. 

 Oak is used principally for lumber, fuel (including charcoal), and cooperage (white oak 

 group), and is the leading wood for railroad ties and mine timbers. Besides the lumber 

 used in building construction, much is manufactured into flooring (oak is the principal 

 flooring wood), boxes and crates, furniture, railroad-car construction, vehicle parts, general 

 millwork, ships and boats, agricultural implements, caskets, fixtures, woodenware and 



