2880 



QUAMOCLIT 



QUERCUS 



Distinguished from all other ipomceas by its bag- 

 shaped corolla and scorpioid infl. It is a very free 

 bloomer, and deservedly popular. jj_ j) HOUSE. 



QUASSIA (from an aboriginal name). Simaruha- 

 ce%. Trees, sometimes cultivated in the warmhouse. 



Leaves alternate, pinnate; Ifts. alternate, entire, 

 coriaceous: panicles axillary and terminal, elongated, 



3303. Quamoclit coccinea var. 

 hederifolia. (XK) 



branched; fls. subcymose-dioecious; calyx small, 5- 

 lobed; petals 5; stamens 10 in the male, rudimentary in 

 the female fls.; ovary sunken in the disk, deeply 5- 

 parted: fr. 1-5 spreading sessile drupes. About 5 

 species, Trop. Amer. and Trop. Afr. 



amara, Linn. Shrubby tree: Ivs. opposite, odd-pin- 

 nate, dark green with bright pink veins; Ifts. 5, ellip- 

 tical-oblong, pointed, entire, tapering toward the 

 base, subsessile at the petiolar strictures; petiole 

 articulate, winged: fls. crimson, in racemes; corollas 

 never fully expanded, the petals having a spiral twist 

 and curling round one another: drupes biglandular 

 ovoid, black with a pale spot at the base. Trop. Amer. 

 B.M. 497. It furnishes the bitter quassia wood and 

 its medicinal extract is used as a tonic. Now cult, in 

 the tropics of both hemispheres. 



F. TRACY HUBBARD. 



QUEEN OF THE MEADOWS: Filipendula Ulmaria. Q. of 

 the Prairie : Filipendula rubra. 



QUEKETTIA (in honor of E. J. Quekett). Orchidd- 

 cese. Small epiphytic plants: Ivs. terete, fleshy: scape 

 filiform, branched: fls. small; sepals and petals similar, 

 linear; lip erect from foot of column, about as long as 

 sepals, entire, hollowed at base; column erect, with 2 

 recurved appendages at apex; anther terminal, incum- 

 bent; pollinia 2, waxy, ovoid, upon linear stalks. 

 About 6 species known, all Brazilian. Related to Ada; 

 little known horticulturally. GEORGE V. NASH. 



QUERCUS (ancient Latin name). Fagclcese. OAK. 

 Ornamental trees, rarely shrubs, grown chiefly for their 

 handsome foliage and interesting habit; many species 

 are important timber trees. See Oak. 



Deciduous or evergreen trees, rarely shrubby: 

 winter buds with usually many imbricate scales: Ivs. 

 alternate, short-petioled, with deciduous stipules, pen- 

 ninerved, serrate, lobed or pinnatifid, rarely entire: 

 fls. monoecious; the staminate in slender, pendulous 



catkins with 4-7-parted calyx and 4-12, usually 6, 

 stamens; pistillate in 1- to many-fld. spikes in the axils 

 of the young Ivs., each fl. consisting of an incompletely 

 3-, or rarely 4-5-celled ovary, surrounded by imbricate 

 bracts; style short or elongated, dilated above and 

 stigmatic on the inner face : fr. a 1-seeded subglobose to 

 oblong nut, surrounded at the base or sometimes 

 almost inclosed by a cup-like involucre. More than 

 200 species are known, distributed through the colder 

 and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere and 

 in the mountains of the tropics. The numerous species 

 are usually divided into 3 subgenera. The species of 

 the subgenus Cyclobalanopsis which has the scales of 

 the cup connate into concentric rings are all Asiatic. 

 The American species belong to Lepidobalanus (balanos 

 is Greek for acorn) and to Erythrobalanus. In the 

 former, comprising the white oak tribe, the acorns 

 mature the first year (Fig. 3304). In the latter, com- 

 prising the black oaks, the acorns mature the second 

 year (Fig. 3305). Besides the 200 species, about 40 

 hybrids have been recorded. Pasania, often included 

 under Quercus, is now usually considered a distinct 

 genus, which see. The latest monograph of the whole 

 genus is by A. DeCandolle in "Prodromus," vol. 16, 

 2, pp. 1-108 (1864-1868). Important illustrated works 

 on American oaks are A. Michaux, "Histoire des 

 Chines de PAmerique" (1801), with 36 plates; Kellogg 

 and Greene, "Illustrations of West American Oaks" 

 (1889), with 37 plates; Sargent, "Silva of North 

 America," vol. 8 (1895), with 82 plates, and Liebmann, 

 "Chenes de 1'Amerique Tropicale" (1869), with 47 

 plates. Most of the European and west Asian oaks are 

 figured in Kotschy "Eichen Europas und des Orients" 

 (1862), with 40 colored plates. For comparative illus- 

 trations of Ivs. see M.D. 1900, p. 32; R.B. 27, p. 61; 

 G.W. 7, pp. 570, 571, 573; for those of frs. see M.D. 

 1900, p. 40; R.B. 27, p. 109. 



The oaks are mostly trees, often tall with massive 

 trunk and stout spreading limbs, with medium-sized, 

 short-petioled leaves, usually more or less lobed, dentate 

 or serrate, rarely entire, with inconspicuous flowers, the 

 staminate ones in slender pendulous catkins and with 

 fruits or "acorns" consisting of a globular to oblong 

 nut inclosed at the base only, rarely wholly or nearly 

 wholly, by a cup-like involucre. The oaks comprise 

 some of the most important forest trees of the northern 



hemisphere. 

 The wood of 

 most species 

 strong, 

 tough, hard 

 and durable, 

 and highly 

 valued for 

 many pur- 

 poses, especi- 

 ally ship- 

 building, con- 

 struction, for furniture, and in 

 the manufacture of wagons, 

 tools and many other articles. 

 The bark of some species, in 

 America that of Q. velutina and 

 Q. Prinus, is used for tanning 

 leather. Cork is obtained from 

 the bark of Q. Suber and Q. 

 ocddentalis in southern Europe. 

 The bark of a few species has also 

 been employed in medicine. The 

 acorns of several species are edible, in America espe- 

 cially those of Q. Prinus, Q. Emoryi and Q. lobata; in 

 Europe those of Q. Ilex var. Ballota and Q. Mgiloys; in 

 Japan those of Q. glauca; in many European countries 

 the acorns of all species are an important food for hogs. 

 In eastern Asia a silkworm feeds on the leaves of differ- 

 ent species. A parasitic insect living on Q. coccifera in 



3304. Annual-fruited 

 oak Quercus alba. The 

 mature acorn is borne on 

 the wood of the season. 



(XK) 



