242 



TREES GROWING IN SANDY SOIL. 



SPANISH OAK. {Plate CXXXI.) 

 Qudrcus digitdta. 



FAMILY SHAPE HEIGHT RANGE 



Beech. Round-topped; 20-30 or 80 feet. N.J. southward and 

 branches^ spreading. westward. 



TIME OF BLOOM 



May, June. 

 Fruit: Sept. 



Oct. 



Bark: brownish red or almost black; rough and broadly-winged. Leaves: 

 simple; alternate; obovate or oblong, widening towards the middle and 

 forming from three to seven long, slender lobes; the terminal one some- 

 what scythe-shaped; entire or sparingly toothed and bristle tipped; the base 

 wedge-shaped or rounded, frequently one-sided. Dark green and glabrous 

 above, rusty grey and pubescent underneath. Acorns: small; almost sessile. 

 Cup: shallow. Nut: rounded and slightly hollowed at the apex. Kernel: 

 bitter. 



It is not difficult to recognise the Spanish oak although its 

 leaves are very variable and often occur on separate trees or 



even on branches of the 

 same tree in two distinct 

 forms. They are always 

 downy underneath. Glanc- 

 ing upward through one 

 of these trees, when its foli- 

 age is beginning to dry and 

 fall in the autumn, it will be 

 noticed to have a more 

 sharply cut and angular look 

 than that of any other of 

 the oaks. The effect is 

 owing to its deeply incised 

 and slender lobes. Soil 

 and climatic conditions 

 greatly influence the tree's 

 growth. In the northern 

 Atlantic states it is not com- 

 mon, and it clings to the 

 coast. In southern New Jersey, where it is more frequent, 

 it chooses gravelly places and barrens for its habitat ; but it 

 does not then attain the stately and slender height that it does 

 southward. It there grows in swamps, often side by side with 



Qu/rcus digitata. 



