CHESTNUT OAK 



(Quercus Prinus) 



THIS tree is known as rock oak in New York ; as rock chestnut oak 

 in Massachusetts and Rhode Island; as rock oak and rock chestnut 

 oak in Pennsylvania and Delaware ; as tanbark oak and swampy chest- 

 nut oak in North Carolina and as rock chestnut oak and mountain oak 

 in Alabama. 



There is a pretty general disposition to call this tree rock oak. 

 The name refers to the hardness of the wood, and is not confined to this 

 species. Other oaks are also given that name, and the adjective "rock" 

 is applied to two or three species of elm which possess wood remarkable 

 for its hardness. Cedar and pine are likewise hi the class. In all of 

 these classes "rock" is employed to denote hardness of wood. Iron as an 

 adjective or ironwood as a noun is used in the same way for a number of 

 trees. The name swampy chestnut oak as applied in some parts of the 

 South to this tree, is hardly descriptive, for it is less a swamp tree 

 than most of the oaks, though it does often grow along the banks of 

 streams. 



Its distribution ranges from the coast of southern Maine and the 

 Blue Hills of eastern Massachusetts southward to Delaware and the 

 District of Columbia; along the Appalachian mountains to northern 

 Georgia and Alabama; westward to the shores of Lake Champlain and 

 the valley of the Genesee river, New York ; along the northern shores of 

 Lake Erie and to central Kentucky and Tennessee. It is rare and local 

 in New England and Ontario, but plentiful on the banks of the lower 

 Hudson river and on the Appalachian mountains from southern New 

 York to Alabama. It reaches its best development in the region from 

 West Virginia to North Carolina, pretty high on the ridges flanking the 

 mountain ranges. 



Leaves are alternate, from five to nine inches long, with coarse teeth 

 rounded at the top. At maturity, they are thick and firm, yellow- 

 green and rather lustrous on the upper surface, paler and usually hairy 

 beneath. In the autumn before falling, they turn a dull orange color or 

 rusty-brown. 



The flowers appear in May and are solitary or paired on short spurs. 

 The fruit or acorn is solitary or in pairs, one or two and one-half niches 

 long, very lustrous and of a bright chestnut-brown color. The acorn 

 cup is thin, downy-lined and covered with small scales. The kernel is 

 sweet and edible. The bark of the chestnut oak is thin, smooth, purplish- 

 brown and often lustrous on young stems and small branches, becoming 



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