FAGACEAE 



Red Oak 



Quercus rubra, L. 



'HABIT. A large tree 70-80 feet high, with a trunk diameter 

 of 2-4 feet; forming a broad, rounded crown of a few large, 

 wide-spreading branches and slender branchlets. 



LEAVES. Alternate, simple, 5-9 inches long, 4-6 inches 

 broad; oval to obovate; 5-n-lobed with coarse-toothed, bristle- 

 tipped lobes tapering from broad bases and wide, oblique, 

 rounded sinuses; thin and firm; dull dark green above, paler 

 beneath ; petioles stout, 1-2 inches long. 



FLOWERS. April-May, when the leaves are half grown; 

 monoecious; the staminate in hairy catkins 4-5 inches long; the 

 pistillate on short, glabrous peduncles ; calyx 4-5-lobed, greenish ; 

 corolla o; stamens 4-5, with yellow anthers; stigmas long, spread- 

 ing, bright green. 



FRUIT. Autumn of second season; sessile or short-stalked 

 acorns ; cup shallow, saucer-shaped, inclosing only the base of 

 the nut ; scales closely appressed, more or less glossy, puberulous, 

 bright red-brown; nut oblong-ovoid with a broad base, about I 

 inch long, red-brown ; kernel white, very bitter. 



WINTER- B'UDS. Terminal bud % inch long, ovoid, acute, 

 light brown, smooth. : 



BARK. Twigs lustrous, green, becoming reddish, finally 

 dark brown ; young trunks smooth, gray-brown ; old trunks 

 darker, shallowly fissured into thin, firm, broad ridges; inner 

 bark light red, not bitter. 



WOOD. Heavy, hard, strong, coarse-grained, light red- 

 brown, with thin, darker colored sapwood. 



DISTRIBUTION. Southern portion of Lower Peninsula 

 as far north as Roscommon County. 



HABITAT. Prefers rich, moist loam; glacial drift; stream- 

 banks. Grows well in all well-drained soils. 



NOTES. Grows rapidly. A good street tree. 

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