THE PIN OAK 



THE Pin Oak is one of the most characteristic species of the Red Oak group. Its 

 preference for low grounds is shown by its other common names of Swamp 

 Spanish Oak and Water Oak, as well as by its technical name, Quercus palustris. 

 It occurs, especially in swamps and along the margins of low-banked rivers, over a great 

 region extending from Massachusetts to Ontario and Minnesota, and south to Kansas, 

 Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It is only locally found in New England and then 

 is generally of a small size, but in the region of the Ohio River it is abundant and some- 

 times reaches a height of more than a hundred feet. 



The character of younger trees as they grow more or less in the open is well shown 

 in the straight- trunked tree illustrated on the plate, in which it will be noticed that the 

 secondary branches are more slender and abundant than in the case of most of the Oaks 

 pictured on the other plates. Michaux has said that these intermingled twigs give the tree 

 at a distance the appearance of being full of pins, and he adds, "This singular disposition 

 renders it distinguishable at first sight in winter and is perhaps the cause of its being called 

 Pin Oak." 



Just above this picture of the tree may be seen a twig bearing the long catkins of 

 pollen-producing flowers at the base of the new season's growth, and the small, stalked 

 seed-producing flowers in the axils of the leaves above. The latter do not mature until 

 the end of the second season, when they form broad acorns borne in wide, shallow cups 

 which are one of the most characteristic features of the species. These broad acorns and 

 shallow cups serve as a ready means of distinguishing the Pin Oak from the Red Oak. 



On account of the brilliant green of the foliage and the slender habit of the tree 

 this species is especially desirable for ornamental planting, and it has also the advantage 

 that it is offered for sale by many nurserymen. Its chief disadvantage is found in the fact 

 that the leaves are occasionally subject to the attack of gall-producing insects. It has 

 proved particularly desirable as a street tree in the City of Washington. 



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