THE BEAR OAK OR SCRUB OAK 



j4 MONG the smaller Oaks which are more likely to be found as shrubs than trees 

 L\ the Bear or Scrub Oak is one of the most abundant in the Eastern States. It 

 X _V is said to have received its common name because the early settlers observed 

 that the bears fed freely upon the acorns. It is easily distinguished by its characteristic 

 bristle-pointed leaves, several typical forms of which are shown on the plate. These 

 leaves turn reddish brown or brown in autumn and many of them remain upon the branches 

 throughout the winter. 



The young twigs of this species are generally somewhat more cylindrical than 

 those of the larger Oaks, and have rather smooth bark of a grayish or brownish color. 

 The small brown buds are rounded or bluntly conical, with closely imbricated scales which 

 are covered with a slight pubescence. 



The conditions at the time of blossoming of this species are admirably shown in 

 the upper left-hand picture of the plate. As will be seen, the blossoms appear when the 

 leaves are about one-third grown. After shedding their pollen the pollen-bearing catkins 

 drop away, while the young acorns slowly develop, requiring two seasons to reach maturity. 

 These full-grown acorns are generally quite small, their average length being half an inch 

 and the shape usually being broad and rounded. The cups are quite deep, with closely 

 imbricated scales, and are borne in stalked clusters along the sides of the smaller branches. 

 In the larger picture on the plate the fully-developed acorns are shown, and in the axils 

 of the leaves of the longest branch projecting downward there are also shown some young 

 acorns which were simply blossoms the previous spring. 



The Bear Oak is most abundant in rather barren, sandy regions along the Atlantic 

 coast. It is characteristic of that part of Massachusetts where Thoreau's Walden was 

 located, and appears to have been one of his favorite trees, being often mentioned under 

 the name "scrub oak." It extends from New England southward to Pennsylvania, and 

 along the slopes of the Alleghany Mountains to Virginia. It does not range very far west 

 from the Atlantic coast. As a tree it seldom attains a height of more than twenty feet or 

 a trunk diameter of more than six inches. In ornamental planting it is chiefly useful on 

 large estates where a shrubby growth is desired on a sandy slope or along a rocky hillside. 



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