141 



SCARLET OAK. 



Quercus coccinea, Muench. 



FORM An average-sized tree usually attaining a height of 60-80 ft., but occasionally 

 reaching a height of 150 ft. with a diameter of 4 feet. Lateral branches ascending above, 

 horizontal in middle, drooping below. Lateral branches are slender and lower ones die readily 

 from shading, only persist for many years. Trunk very tapering, crown shallow and narrow. 



BARK On old trunks intermediate between the Red Oak and the Black Oak. It is broken 

 up into rough, irregular, deep fissures which separate ridges not so rough as those of the 

 Black Oak and not so flat-topped as those of the Red Oak. Inner bark red to gray. On younger 

 limbs thin, smooth, light brown. See Fig. 78. 



TWIGS Slender, smooth, reddish or grayish-brown, covered with numerous, small, tale 

 lenticels; pith star-shaped. 



BUDS Alternate, broadly ovate, narrowed to a blunt apex, J-i of an inch long, dark 

 reddish-brown, covered with a pale wool from the middle to the apex. 



LEAVES Alternate, simple, broadly oval to obovate, 3-6 inches long, 25-5 inches wide, 

 5-9-lobed, lobes bristle-pointed and separated by deep round-based sinuses extending at least 

 of the distance to the midrib. In autumn brilliantly scarlet before falling. 



LEAF-SCARS See "Leaf -Scars" under White Oak, page 132. 



FLOWERS Appear about May when leaves are i developed. Staminate flowers are borne 

 in slender pubescent aments 3-4 inches long. Pistillate on short pubescent stalks, reddish 

 in color, with reflexed bright red stigmas. 



FRTTIT An acorn, maturing at the end of the second season, sessile or short-stalked, 

 solitary or paired. Nut ovoid, 2/5-4/5 of an inch long, reddish-brown, occasionally striate. 

 Cup thin, covering about 5 of the nut, narrowed at base, with closely imbricated, sharp- 

 pointed, slightly downy scales often forming a fringe at the cup margin which is closely 

 appressed to the nut. 



WOOD Ring -porous; with prominent medullary rays; strong, heavy, coarse in texture. 

 Weighs 46.15 Ibs. per cubic foot. The wood has little commercial value as timber. 



DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The Scarlet Oak Is one of the commonest of the 

 Black Oak group and can readily be distinguished from the Black Oak by its smoother bark 

 ridges on the trunk, its paler inner bark, its deeper round-based leaf-sinuses, its smooth, 

 close-fitting scales of the acorn-cup, and its stouter, often smaller, less angular buds which 

 are covered with pale wool, only from the middle to the apex while the Black Oak is dis- 

 tinctly woolly over the entire bud. It can be distinguished from the Red Oak by its smaller 

 and more deeply lobed leaves, its less flat-topped ridges of the bark, its smaller and deeper- 

 cupped acorns, and its buds which are covered with, a pale wool from the middle to the 

 apex while those of the Red Oak are free from wool. The persistent, stunted, often drooping 

 and dead lateral branches are also peculiar to this tree. This . characteristic is common to 

 trees on the border of bodies of water. 



RANGE Maine to Minnesota, south to North Carolina and Nebraska. 



DISTRIBUTION IN PENNSYLVANIA Common in the eastern, central, and southern parts. 

 Sparse in western part. Rare in northern part. 



HABITAT Prefers dry sandy soil. Frequently met upon light stony or sandy uplands but 

 -the best individuals occur on good soil at the base of the slopes where it is often found 

 bordering hollows filled wi.th water during spring. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE SPECIES The wood of the Scarlet Oak is of little commercial 

 importance as compared with some of the other oaks. The wood is sold on the market 

 as Red Oak but is inferior in quality to the latter. This species is often attacked by fungi when 

 it has reached medium size, which causes the wood to rot and often results in wind-break in 

 the forest. This species on account of its fast growth, beautiful foliage with its special 

 autumnal coloration, is one of the most desirable trees for street or park. 



