QUERCUS 323 



pointed, with four to seven coarse, triangular teeth at each side ; 3 to 6 ins. 

 long, about two-thirds as wide ; dark glossy green and smooth above, grey 

 and minutely downy beneath ; stalk j to ^ in. long. Acorns scarcely stalked, 

 up to in. long, nearly half enclosed by the cup. 



Native of the eastern and central United States ; introduced in 1828. It 

 is interesting and curious as a suckering oak, but has little to recommend it 

 for ornament. It is said not to exceed 15 ft. in height in a wild state, but I 

 have only seen it one-third that height in cultivation, and never bearing 

 acorns. 



O. PRINUS, Lmnaus. CHESTNUT OAK. 



A deciduous tree, 60 to 70 ft. high in a wild state ; young shoots stout, 

 smooth. Leaves obovate, 3 to 7 ins. long, i^ to 3^ ins. wide ; tapered at the 

 base, more abruptly so to the blunt apex ; from each side of the midrib there 

 spring ten to fifteen prominent parallel veins, each of which, except one or 

 two at the base, runs out to the apex of an oblique rounded tooth. The 

 upper surface is dark glossy green and smooth, midrib bright yellow ; lower 

 surface dull pale grey, and covered with a minute down ; stalk yellow, ^ to i j 

 ins. long, smooth. Acorns oval, i ins. long, solitary or in pairs, borne on a 

 stout stalk about ^ in. long ; usually less than half enclosed in the thin, 

 warted cup. 



Native of the eastern United States ; introduced about the end of the 

 seventeenth century, but still an uncommon tree. Young specimens at Kew, 

 where it thrives well, show it to be a handsome and striking oak. It 

 resembles Q. Mirbeckii, but that species is downy only along the midrib 

 beneath and on the stalk, and its acorns are scarcely stalked. 



Q. MUEHLENBERGII, Engelmann (Q. acuminata, Sargent}. Yellow Oak. 

 This is very nearly allied to Q. Prinus, but differs in having little or no stalk 

 to the acorn ; the teeth of the usually narrower leaves also are sharper and 

 are tipped by a glandular mucro. It scarcely exists in cultivation in Britain, 

 and does not seem likely to succeed as well as Q. Prinus. Native of the 

 eastern and central United States, reaching southern Ontario. 



Q. RUBRA, Linnczus. RED OAK. 



A deciduous tree from 60 to 100 ft. high, with a trunk 3 to 6 ft. in 

 diameter ; young shoots warted, not downy. Leaves oval or obovate, usually 

 tapered, sometimes rounded at the base, with three to five lobes at each side, 

 the lobes obliquely triangular or ovate, pointed, and with a few unequal 

 teeth ; the blade is 4 to 9 ins. long, 4 to 6 ins. broad, dark green and smooth 

 above, pale dull green or greyish beneath, usually with tufts of brownish hairs 

 in the vein-axils ; stalks yellowish, smooth, i to 2 ins. long. Acorns 5 to i^ 

 ins. long, nearly as wide, flat at the bottom, which is set in a shallow, almost 

 saucer-shaped cup covered with closely appressed, short broad scales ; they 

 take two seasons to mature. 



Native of Eastern N. America ; introduced early in the eighteenth 

 century. The red oak is undoubtedly the best grower among the American 

 species introduced to Britain. In a young state it grows vigorously, and 

 its fine, boldly cut foliage makes it one of the handsomest of deciduous trees. 

 It frequently ripens acorns at Kew, from which young trees are raised. Its 

 leaves change in autumn to a dull reddish or yellowish brown. The largest 

 tree noted in England by Elwes is at Pains Hill So ft. high, its trunk 19 ft. in 

 girth. The red oak is much confused with Q. coccinea and palustris, but 

 it has larger leaves than either, usually not so deeply lobed, dull beneath, 

 and not so bright above. The shallow acorn cup distinguishes it also from 

 Q. coccinea. 



