SCARLET OAK (Quercus coccinea, Muench.). 70 to 160 feet. 

 Slender, symmetrical tree, with graceful, curving branches 

 above tapering trunk, forming round head. Bark brown, or 

 gray, rough, scaly, shallowly fissured; inner layers red; twigs 

 green, scurfy, becoming smooth red. Wood reddish brown, 

 coarse, heavy, of rapid growth, used for lumber, classed with 

 the preceding species. Leaves thin, shiny, oval or obovate, 

 cleft by deep, rounded sinuses into 5 to 7 spreading, bristly, 

 subdivided lobes; length 3 to 6 inches. Upper surface 

 smooth, shining; lower paler, smooth, or tufted with hairs 

 on veins. Autumn color, scarlet. Petioles slender. Flowers 

 red, pubescent, delicate, of the usual oak types. Acorns 

 stalked, solitary or in pairs, less than an inch long, 

 taper-pointed, or rounded in trim, close-scaled cup; kernel 

 white, bitter. Dist.: Dry, rich soil, Maine to Florida; west 

 to Minnesota, Nebraska, and Missouri. Favorite shade and 

 ornamental oak. 



