hoary pubescent. Wood very heavy, hard, tough, durable, 

 light brown; superior lumber. Leaves evergreen, leathery, 

 obovate or elliptical, plain-margined, 2 to 5 inches long, dark 

 green shining above, pale to silvery white beneath, and do vray '; 

 shed by the oncoming of new foliage in spring. Flowers mon- 

 oecious, in April; stamina te catkins clustered, hairy, showy; 

 pistillate in spikes, long, few-flowered, red-tipped. Acorns 

 clustered, brown, 1 inch long, pointed, in thin, scaly, stalked 

 cup; nut | to f enclosed; kernel sweet. Dist.: Islands and 

 sandy coast regions, Virginia to Florida, and Cuba; west to 

 Mexico; occurs in Lower California and Mexico. Favorite 

 shade and ornamental park tree of the South. 



