664 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



hiijhly esteemed qualities of these trees. The specific name, which is the Latin 

 name for black, was given to this tree on account of the very dark green leaves 

 and the small dark brown colored acorns. The genus quercus belongs to the 

 family of trees which produce inconspicuous flowers, the sterile being in 

 slender green catkins and the fertile or fruiting ones solitary or clustered, 

 appearing in the spring. The species nigra is of the class known as black 

 or red oaks, which mature their fruit regularly every two years. This is con- 

 trary to what takes place with the members of the white oak group, which 

 mature their fruit annually. The twigs are slender, light or dull red during 

 the first winter, becoming light brown the following year. The leaves are us- 

 ually oblong-obovate, gradually narrowed and wedge-shaped at the base. The 

 apex is generally rounded or entire or less often three-lobed ; the lobes are 

 seldom sharp or bristle pointed, which is a character of the leaves of black or 

 red oaks. 



Water oak usually varies from 50 to 75 feet in height, and has a trunk 

 from 2 to 4 feet through. The branches spread gradually from the stem and 

 form a symmetrical round-topped head, especially good for a shade tree. Any- 

 one familiar with the water oak will concede that it is one of the handsomest 

 and most useful oaks of southeastern United States. Large specimens which 

 are sometimes 100 feet high, develop a head of unusual regularity and beauty. 

 In the moist soil near the border of a lake or along a stream, the favorite sit- 

 uation of this tree, it is forced upward in search of light and then forms a 

 more or less spire-like top. In open situations with a sufficient light and 

 growing space, the branches spread out horizontally and form the broad head 

 which make some individuals of this tree as handsome and symmetrical al- 

 most as it is possible for an oak to become. South of central Georgia the 

 leaves of this tree are persistent throughout the year. They remain lustrous 

 green until they are gradually shed in the spring of the year after the new 

 leaves have come out; in its most northern habitat, however, the leaves grad- 

 ually fall ofl' during the winter. 



