141 



SCARLET OAK. 

 Quercus coccinea, Muench. 



FOEM— An average-sized tree usually attaining a height of CO-80 ft., but occasionally 

 reaching a height of 150 ft. with a diameter of 4 feet. Lateral branches ascending above, 

 horizontal in middle, drooping below. Lateral branches are slender and lower ones die readily 

 from shading, only persist for many years. Trunk very tapering, crown shallow and narrow. 



BAKK — On old trunks intermediate between the Kcd Oak and the Black Oak. It Is broken 

 up into rough. Irregular, deep fissures which separate ridges not so rough as those of the 

 Black Oak and not so flat-lopped as those of the Red Oak. Inner bark red to gray. On younger 

 limbs thin, smooth, light brown. See Fig. 78. 



TWIGS Slender, smooth, reddish or grayish-brown, covered with numerous, small, pale 



lenticels; pith star-shaped. 



BUDS Alternate, broadly ovate, narrowed to a blunt npex, 1-1 of an inch long, dark 



reddish brown, covered with a pale wool from the middle to the apex. 



LEAVES Alternate, simple, broadly oval to obovate, 3-8 Inches long, 25-5 Inches wide, 



5-9-lobed. lobes bristle-pointed and separated by deep round-based sinuses extending at least 

 j of the distance to the midrib. In autumn brilliantly scarlet before falling. 



LEAF-SCARS — See "Leaf Scars" nnder White Oak, page 132. 



FLOWERS^Appear about May when leaves are J developed. Staminate flowers are borne ■ 

 In slender pubescent aments 3-4 inches long. Pistillate on short pubescent stalks, reddish 

 In color, with rcflesed bright red stigmas. 



FEUIT An acorn, maturing at the end of the second season, sessile or short-stalked, 



soUt.Try or paired. Nut ovoid, 2/5-4/5 of on Inch long, reddish-brown, occasionally striate. 

 Cup thin, covering about i of the nut, narrowed at base, with closely Imbricated, sharp- 

 pointed, slightly downy scales often forming a fringe at the cup margin which is closely 

 appressed to the nut. 



WOOD Ring-porous; with prominent medullary rays; strong, heavy, coarse in texture. 



Weighs 4B.15 lbs. per cubic foot. The wood has little commercial value as timber. 



DISTINGUISHING CHAEACTEEISTICS — The Scarlet Oak is one of the commonest of the 

 Black Oak group and can readily bo distinguished from the Black Oak by its smoother bark 

 ridges on the trunk, its paler inner bark, its deeper round-based leaf-sinuses, its smooti, 

 close-fitting scales of the ocorn-cup, and its stouter, often smaller, less angular buds which 

 are covered with pale wool only from the middle to the apex while the Black Oak is dis- 

 tinctly woolly over the entire bud. It can be distinguished from the Red Oak by Its smaller 

 and more deeply lobed leaves, its less flat-topped ridges of the l?ark, its smaller and deeper- 

 capped acorns, and its buds which are covered with a pale wool from the middle to the 

 apex while those of the Red Oak are free from wool. The persistent, stunted, often drooping 

 and dead lateral branches are also peculiar to this tree. This characteristic is common to 

 trees on the border of bodies of water. 



EANGE Maine to Minnesota, south to North Carolina and Nebraska. 



DISTRIBUTION IN PENNSYLVANIA — Common in the eastern, central, and southern parts. 

 Sparse in western part. Rare in northern part. 



HABITAT Prefers dry sandy soil. Frequently met upon light stony or sandy uplands but 



the best individuals occur on good soil at the base of the slopes where it is often found 

 bordering hollows filled with water during spring. 



IMPOETANCE OF THE SPECIES— The wood of the Scarlet Oak Is of litUe commercial 

 Importance as compared with some of the other oaks. The wood Is sold on the market 

 US Red Oak but is inferior In quality to the latter. This species is often attacked by fungi when 

 it has reached medium size, which causes the wood to rot and often results In wind-break In 

 the forest. This species on account of its fast growth, beautiful foliage with its special 

 autumnal coloration, is one of the most desirable trees for street or park. 



