42 HOUGH'S AMERICAN WOODS. 



USES. This is perhaps the poorest wood produced by the Hickories 

 and is little used save for fuel, fencing, etc. 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES. Although this species in particular is not 

 mentioned as possessing medicinal properties doubtless those known of 

 the others of the genus are also +rue of this, viz. : the aromatic and 

 astringent properties of the leaves, and the astringent and bitter properties 

 of the inner bark which are made use of in the treatment of dyspepsia, 

 intermittent fever, etc. (See Carya alba, Part II, pp. 36.) 



ORDER CUPULIFERffi: OAK FAMILY. 



Leaves alternate, simple, straight-veined ; the stipules forming the bud-scales, 

 deciduous. Flowers monoecious, apetalous. Sterile flowers in clustered or raceined 

 catkins (or in simple clusters in the Beech); calyx regular or scale-like; stamens 5-20. 

 Fertile flowers solitary, clustered or spiked, and furnished with an involucre which 

 forms a cup or covering to the nut ; calyx-tube adherent to the ovary, its teeth mi- 

 nute and crowning the summit ; ovary 2-7-celled with 1-2 pendulous ovules in each 

 cell, but all of the cells and ovules, except one, disappearing before maturity ; stig- 

 mas sessile Fruit a 1-celled, 1-seeded nut, solitary or several together, and partly 

 or wholly covered by the scaly (in some cases echinate) involucral cup or covering ; 

 seed albumenless, with an anatropous, often edible, embryo ; cotyledons thick and 

 fleshy. 



Represented by both trees and shrubs. 



GENUS QUERCUS L. 



Flowers greenish or yellowish. Sterile flowers in loose, slender, naked catkins, 

 which spring singly or several together from axillary buds ; calyx 2--8-parted or 

 cleft ; stamens 3-12 ; anthers 2-celled. Fertile flowers with ovary nearly 3-celled and 

 6 ovuled, 2 of the cells and 5 of the ovules being abortive ; stigma 3-lobed ; involu- 

 cre developing into a hard, scaly cup around the base of the nut or acorn, which is 

 1-celled and 1-seeded. 



(The ancient Latin name for the Oak supposed to be from the Celtic quer, fine and 

 cuez, tree.) 



116. QUERCUS MICHAUXII, NUTT. 

 BASKET OAK, Cow OAK, SWAMP CHESTNUT OAK. 



Ger., Korb-Eiclie ; Fr., Chene de panier ; Sp., RoUe de canasto. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS : Leaves 5-8 in. long, oval to obovate oblong, acute or 

 accuminate, obtuse or occasianally cordate at base, prominently pinnately veined and 

 regularly and coarsely but not deeply crenate-toothed, rather thick, shining green and 

 smooth above and usually pale gray and fine velvety beneath. Flowers with usually 

 10 stamens ; stigma subsessile and abortive ovules at the base of the perfect seed. 

 Fruit a large oblong-ovoid acorn maturing the first year, sometimes 1| in. in length, 

 scarcely half immersed in the rather shallow and hoary cup, with hard stout acute, 

 tuberculate scales without fringe, short pedunculate, inner side of nut-shell glabrous 

 kernel sweetish and edible. 



A majestic Oak sometimes attaining the height of 100 ft. (30 m.) or 

 more with a trunk even 6 or 7 ft. (2 m.) in diameter, clothed in a light- 

 gray bark which is rough with longitudinal loose scaly ridges. 



