QUERCUS 319 



lobes sometimes shallow and little more than undulations, sometimes broad, 

 deep oblong-, each with subsidiary lobes or teeth terminated by a bristle. 

 The leaves vary from 2 to 7 ins, long, and are nearly or quite as much wide ; 

 upper surface dark polished green, at first covered with stellate scurf ; lower 

 surface paler, with conspicuous lines and tufts of down along the midrib 

 and veins : stalk | to in. long. Acorns f in. long, solitary or in pairs, on a 

 short, thick, downy stalk ; cup one-third to two-thirds the length of the acorn. 

 Native of the eastern United States ; introduced early in the eighteenth 

 century. Occasionally its leaves turn rich red in autumn, but more often 

 brown. It is a slow-growing and comparatively dwarf oak, but its foliage is 

 striking. The three-lobed form of leaf in Q. cuneata is rather like the above, 

 but has a slender stalk twice or more than twice as long. 



Q. MlRBECKIl, Durieu. 



A deciduous tree of stately habit, 60 to 80 ft. high in England, up to 

 1 20 ft. in Algeria ; young shoots ribbed, not downy, brown the second year. 

 Leaves oval or obovate, coarsely toothed or lobed, the base rounded to heart- 

 shaped, or frequently lobed each side, the stalk (auricled). In young trees the 

 leaves are 3 to 7 ins. long, if to 3^ ins. wide ; in adult trees they are smaller 

 generally ; dark green and smooth above, glaucous beneath and also smooth 

 except for some loose brown floss on the midrib, especially towards the base 

 and on the stalk, which is \ to I in. long ; ribs in eight to fourteen pairs. 

 Acorns scarcely stalked, produced two or three together, about I in. long ; 

 the cup encloses the lowest third, and is itself clothed outside with flattened 

 downy scales. 



Native of N. Africa and Portugal ; perfectly hardy, and one of the 

 handsomest of all oaks, being a vigorous grower and striking in the rich 

 green and large size of its leaves, which remain on the branches until 

 Christmas, sometimes a month or two later. It is of the same type as 

 conferta and macranthera, but differs from both in the smooth, less deeply 

 lobed leaves. From pontica it is distinguished by the leaves having much 

 fewer ribs. It was introduced from Algeria to France by General Pelissier, 

 about 1845, by acorns, some of which were at the time sent by Louis Philippe 

 to Queen Victoria. In E. Algeria, according to Henry, it is an important 

 timber tree, the forests of that region yielding about three and a half millions 

 cubic feet of timber annually. 



Q. NIGRA, Linnceus. WATER OAK. 



(Q. aquatica, Walter.*) 



A deciduous tree up to 80 ft. high in a wild state ; young shoots smooth. 

 Leaves often crowded at the end of short twigs, extremely variable in shape, 

 mostly obovate, tapered at the base and rounded or bluntish at the apex ; 

 some, however, are narrow-oblong, like those of Q. Phellos, and entire ; others 

 have several shallow or deep lobes towards the apex ; they vary from i^- to 

 4 ins. long, and from to 2 ins. wide, and are of a pale green and smooth on 

 both surfaces except for tufts of down in the vein-axils beneath ; stalk ^ to 

 5- in. long. Acorns usually solitary, j? in. broad and long, one-third enclosed in 

 a broad, shallow, short-stalked cup with appressed scales. 



Native of the southern United States ; introduced in 1723. The water 

 oak is not common, but a few good specimens are scattered about the country 

 chiefly in old-established gardens. The best at Kew is near the Sun Temple, 

 and about 50 ft. high. It retains its leaves quite fresh until about the New 

 Year. Its affinities are with Q. Phellos, which, however, never has the broad, 

 obovate or lobed leaves. In the southern United States it is popular as a shade 



