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BRITISH FOREST TREES 



lings, the leaves of the English oak have a small lappet at the 

 base, which is not generally found on the foliage of the sessile 

 oak ; young leaves of the latter have a downy covering of 

 hair on the lower surface, and older leaves at least show 

 traces of this in the angles of the veins, whilst leaves of the 

 former are usually quite smooth. It is, however, from the 

 differences between the flowers and fruits that the distinctive 

 botanical names have been chosen ; the female flowers and 

 the acorn are sessile in the sessile oak, but are separated 

 from each other on short stalks or peduncles in the pedun- 

 culate oak. Even during the leafless period in winter, the 

 varieties are in general easily distinguishable, the latter having 

 a more branching growth and a more rugged and deeply 

 fissured bark than the former, whilst its leaf-buds are also 

 shorter, thicker, and less pointed. 



Distribution. The English oak is found over the greatest 

 portion of Europe, Asia Minor, and the Caucasus, its 

 northern limit being about 58 in Scotland, 60 63 in 

 Scandinavia, 57^ in Russia, thence eastwards to the Ural ; 

 its southern limit through Spain, Sicily, and Greece is not 

 fixed. Its maximum development takes place in the south- 

 ern portion of central Europe (in the area drained by the 

 lower Danube it is the chief tree over extensive tracts of 

 woodland), and everywhere it is indigenous rather on the 



