POST OAK; IRON OAK (Quercus minor, Sarg.)- Shrub to 

 60 feet. Dense, round-topped head of stout, stiff branches 

 with fuzzy twigs. Bark cleft into thick, scaly, wide ridges. 

 Wood brown, heavy, hard, durable in soil, used for posts, ties, 

 and general building. Leaves 4 to 5 inches long, clustered. 

 stiff, harsh, shining, dark green above, brown, woolly beneath, 

 the 5 to 7 irregular lobes squarish, and sinuses also. Persis- 

 tent all winter, in protected situations. Flowers staminate, 

 catkins yellow, hairy, 3 to 4 inches long; pistillate few in clus- 

 ter, greenish, with red tips of stigmas. Acorns annual, abun- 

 dant, f to 1 inch long, ovoid, brown, less than half covered by 

 the shallow cup of loose, blunt scales. Kernel sweet. Dist.: 

 Massachusetts to northern Florida; west to Missouri and 

 Texas; common in the Southwest. Good for planting rough 

 ground. 



