348 ] Trees and How to Know Them 



branch. Still others may also have several placed like the buds 

 of the oaks; but in such cases the buds are very unequal in size.) 



The Sturdy Oak: The sturdy wood of the oak has played a great 

 role in our history. Pioneers built blockhouses, log cabins, bridges, 

 and barns of oak. Gun deck, keel, and other parts of the frigate 

 Constitution were made of white oak, and all-oak ships were built 

 for years. Today oak is still a wood of great importance. It is used 

 especially for flooring and furniture and serves the United States 

 Navy in mine sweepers and patrol boats. 



MAPLES 



Sugar Maples: The form of the sugar maple is determined by the 

 conditions under which it grows. When there is plenty of room 

 the tree has a short trunk and an oval head; in a forest its granite- 

 gray trunk in search of sunlight may reach a height of a hundred 

 feet while its leaves and branches blend with the surrounding 

 foliage to form the forest's green canopy. The glossy leaves, dark 

 green above and pale beneath, have five main lobes between the 

 edges marked with a few large teeth. 



When the leaves fall, you see a silhouette with many branches 

 these divide into fine spray set close at sharp angles to the trunk. 

 You can notice, too, a fine graduation in color as the dark gray of 

 the trunk shades to lighter tones on the branches. The spray is 

 purplish the color of the long sharp-pointed winter buds. In late 

 winter the bud scales become downy and turn almost golden. 

 Soon afterward you see them pushed off by the yellowish, downy 

 leaves. Greenish-yellow flowers appear at the same time, grouped 

 in tassel-like clusters. 



The sugar (or rock) maple's hard, close-grained wood is used 

 in much of our high-quality furniture. 



Red Maples: Other species of maple native to America can also 

 be distinguished quite readily. The red maple gets its name from 

 usually having something red about it. It has red buds in winter 

 and early spring; in late spring the flowers are most frequently 



