QUERCUS 



QUERCUS 



2SS1 



oak. Quercus velutina. 

 The mature acom is borne 

 on two-year-old wood: that 

 is, the acorn does not 

 mature until it is two years 

 old. (X33 



southern Europe and northern Africa yields a scarlet 

 dye. Galls caused by the puncture of certain insects 

 are used for tanning and dyeing and are now chiefly 

 obtained from Q. Itex var. infectoria in western Asia. 

 Some of the above-mentioned species are described only 

 in the supplementary list, page 2890. 



The deciduous species are mostly hardy North, while 

 of the evergreen ones none seems to be hardy farther 

 north than Washington, D.C.; some half-evergreen 

 oaks, as Q. Pseudoturneri and Q. macedonica, will 

 probably prove hardy in the vicinity of New York. 

 Most of the oaks are stately trees of noble and majestic 



habit with stout, 

 wide-spreading 

 branches; some, 

 as Q. alba, Q. 

 Garryana, Q. vir- 

 giniana, and Q. 

 chrysolepis, often 

 cover a space 

 more than 100 

 feet in diameter; 

 others, as Q. 

 macrocarpa, Q. 

 montana and Q. 

 velutina, have a 

 more oval, round- 

 topped head, 

 while Q. palustris 

 and Q. imbricaria 

 form symmetrical 

 broad pyramids. 

 A very few hardy 

 species are shrubs, 

 generally called 

 scrub oaks, as Q. 

 prinoides and Q. 

 ilicifolia. Oaks 

 rank among our 

 most valuable park and avenue trees, and are as 

 beautiful when grown as single trees as they are when 

 grouped together and forming groves and woods. As 

 avenue trees, Q. palustris, Q. rubra, Q. coccinea, Q. 

 imbricaria and Q. Phellos are among the best, the last- 

 named when medium-sized trees are desired; in the 

 southern states, Q. laurifolia, Q. nigra, and the ever- 

 green Q. virginiana are preferred. The shrubby species, 

 like Q. prinoides and Q. ilicifolia, may be used for cover- 

 ing rocky hillsides and dry ridges. 



Oak leaves are always beautiful. They have many 

 shades of green; especially attractive are some with 

 leaves of contrasting colors, the under side being silvery 

 white, the upper one dark green, as in Q. Muhlenbergii, 

 Q. macrocarpa, Q. Prinus, and some foreign evergreen 

 species. In many oaks the leaves show a handsome pink 

 or crimson color when unfolding, and some species 

 assume brilliant autumnal tints. Especially beautiful 

 in autumn are Q. coccinea and Q. palustris, with the 

 foliage turning brilliant scarlet; Q. rubra, Q. imbricaria, 

 and Q. Prinus, which turn bright or dark red; Q. alba, 

 violet or vinous purple; Q. lyrata, scarlet or orange; Q. 

 Phellos, pale yellow; Q. montana, orange or orange- 

 brown; Q. falcata and Q. ilicifolia, orange-brown or 

 yellow; Q. stellata and Q. nigra, brown or dull orange. 

 Some of the foreign species, like Q. sessiliflora and also 

 Q. Robur, Q. Cerris, Q. lanuginosa, Q. glandulifera, and 

 others, retain the green color until late in fall. Besides 

 our native evergreen species, the Japanese Q. acuta, 

 Q. myrsin&folia, and Q. glauca are among the best ever- 

 green oaks for cultivation in the South; the European 

 Q. Ilex and Q. Suber are also handsome evergreen trees. 

 Generally the oaks grow best in a moderately moist 

 rich soil, including heavy clay; some, as Q. bicolor, Q. 

 nigra, Q. alba, Q. Phellos, Q. falcata, and Q. vir- 

 giniana, prefer moister situations and grow naturally in 

 low and often even in swampy ground; while others, 



especially the red oaks, like Q. rubra, Q. coccinea, Q. 

 imbricaria, Q. marilandica, Q. montana. and Q. stellata, 

 grow well in drier, rocky or sandy soil, and the scrub 

 oaks on dry and barren soil. The black and red oaks, 

 especially the pin oak, are usually easily transplanted 

 and large trees are moved successfully, while the white 

 oaks are more particular and only younger nursery- 

 grown trees can be safely transplanted. 



Oaks are propagated usually by seeds sown immedi- 

 ately after gathering in fall; this is especially necessary 

 with Q. alba, Q. virginiana, and some other white oaks 

 which sprout as soon as they are ripe; but only the root 

 is produced in fall, while the stem does not appear until 

 the following spring. The seeds of red and black oaks, 

 and also of Q. Robur, if not sown at once should be 

 stratified and sown early in spring. Acorns should be 

 packed in earth, moss, or sawdust when shipped for a 

 great distance. Varieties are usually grafted on potted 

 stock in the greenhouse in early spring or sometimes in 

 August. As a stock Q. Robur is preferred, but Q. rubra, 

 Q. velutina, and Q. montana are also employed. It is 

 probably safer to graft varieties of white and of red 

 oak each on stock of the same group. The evergreen 

 species are sometimes increased by layers and also by 

 cuttings. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Scales of the cupula distinct, imbricate. 

 B. Walls of nut tomentose on the inner 

 surface: hs. lobed, with bristle- 

 tipped teeth and lobes or entire, 

 bristly-pointed, but not serrate and 

 not evergreen: fr. ripening the 

 second year: bark dark-colored, not 

 scaly. BLACK OAKS. (Erythro- 

 balanus.) 



c. Lvs. pinnatifid, slender-stalked. 

 D. Lobes of hs. usually toothed: 

 under side glabrous or rarely 

 pubescent. 



