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 OVERCUP OAK {Qucrcus lyrata Walt.) 



THE overcup oak, sometimes known as swamp 

 post oak, is a large tree with small, often pendu- 

 lous 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 

 Mississippi 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 



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. The 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. 



OVERCUP OAK 



Leaf, one-third natural size. 

 Twig, two-thirds natural size. 



37 



