

OVERCUP OAK 



{Qucrcus I y rata Walt.) 



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TTIiE overcup oak, sometimes known as swamp post 

 oak, is a large tree with small, often pendulous 

 branches rarely reaching a height of 100 feet and a 

 diameter of 3 feet. It occurs in river bottoms and 

 rich low grounds of the Coastal Plain and the Mis- 

 sissippi basin, but is nowhere very abundant. 



The leaves are 7 to 9 inches long, 1 to 4 inches 

 broad, oblong, 

 wider towards the 

 point, narrowed at 

 the base, dark 

 green above, whit- 

 ish beneath, with 

 7 to 9 distinct, 

 deep, pointed 

 lobes. They fre- 

 quently turn to a 

 bright scarlet or to 

 scarlet and orange 

 in the fall. The 

 bark is rough, 

 flaky, gray tinged 

 with red. 



The flowers 



OVBRCTJP OAK 

 Leaf, one-third natural size. 

 Twig, two-thirds natural size. 



open in April with the unfolding of the leaves. The 

 acorn, or fruit, ripens the first year. It is thor- 

 oughly characteristic of the species. Tlie large 

 rounded or somewhat flattened acorn, one-half to 

 1 inch long, is nearly covered by the ovate or 

 nearly spherical cup, which is thickened at the base 

 but gradually grows thinner to the thin, often ir- 

 regularly split, margin of the cup. The name of 

 the tree comes from this characteristic. 



The wood is heavy, hard, strong and durable and 

 is used for the same purposes as that of white oak. 



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