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CHESTNUT OAK 



{Querent montana Willd., lormerly Q. piimis L.) 



^HESTNUT oak, also known as mountain oak and 

 rock oak, has acquired these names from its 

 leaf, which resembles tliat of the chestnut, and from 

 its fondness for rocky or mountain ridges. It is 

 found widely distributed throughout the mountains 

 on dry gravelly and rocky slopes, ridges and stream 

 banks. 



CHESTNUT OAK 



One-thiid natural size. 



It is noticeably a spreading tree of medium 

 height; at 15 to 20 feet, the trunk frequently di- 

 vides into several large, angular limbs, making an 

 open, irregular-shaped head. The bark is dark red- 

 dish brown, thick, deeply divided into broad, round- 

 ed, ridges, and is of high commercial value for the 

 extraction of tannic acid. 



The leaves are simple, alternate, oblong, often 

 rounded at the point, irregularly scalloped or wavy 

 on the edge (not sharp-toothed as in chestnut), 5 to 

 9 inches long, and shiny yellowisli green above, 

 lighter and slightly fuzzy beneath. The fruit is an 

 acorn about an inch long, oval, shiny brown, and 

 enclosed up to half its length in a cup. It ripens 

 in one season, and, like the acorn of the white oak, 

 sprouts in the autumn soon after falling to the 

 ground. 



The wood is generally similar to that of the other 

 upland white oaks, heavy, hard, strong, and durable 

 in contact with the soil. It is extensively cut into 

 crossties and heavy timbers for bridge, railroad, and 

 other rough construction, and used for fence posts 

 and fuel. 



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