BLACK JACK; BARREN OAK; JACK OAK (Quercus Mari- 

 landica, Muench.). 20 to 50 feet. Black-trunked, contorted, 

 spreading shrub or tree with open, irregular head, the stout 

 branchlets coated with pale, thick tomentum, of articulate 

 and stellate hairs, giving a rough feeling. Bark nearly black, 

 in squarish plates, scaly. .Wood heavy, hard, strong, brown, 

 used for fuel and charcoal. Leaves broadly obovate, wedge- 

 shaped basal half, the apex broadening into 3 lobes, plain or 

 wavy margins, and bristly tips; firm, thick, orange-scurfy be- 

 neath; 6 to 7 inches long and broad. Petioles stout. Acorns 

 single or paired, f inch long, rounded, yellow-brown, often 

 striped, deep in a reddish-brown, loose-scaled cup lined with 

 fuzz, thick-rimmed. Dist.: New York to Nebraska; south to 

 Florida and Texas. Dry, sandy or clay barrens. 



