BEECH FAMILY. 

 g. Quercus nigra L. Water Oak 



rcus nigra L. Sp. PI. 995. 1753. 

 Quercus nigra var. aquatica Lam. Encycl. I: 721 

 Quercus aquatica Walt. Fl. Car. 234. 1788. 



A tree, with maximum height of about 80 and trunk 

 iameter of 4 ; bark gray, rough in ridges. Leaves 



itulate or obovate, i-3-lobed at the apex, or some of 

 iem entire and rounded, coriaceous, short-petioled, 

 ither bright green and shining on both sides, finely 

 sticulate-veined, glabrous when mature except tufts 

 "hairs in the axils of the veins beneath, \*A'-$' long, 

 ic lobes low, usually obtuse and bristle- tipped; styles 



:urved; fruit maturing the second autumn; cup sau- 

 ;r-shaped with a rounded base, 5 // -7 // broad, its bracts 

 ^pressed; acorn globose-ovoid, 2-3 times as high as 

 le cup. 



Along streams and swamps or sometimes on the up- 

 md, Delaware to Kentucky, Missouri, Florida and Texas, 

 'ood hard, strong, cross-grained, light brown; weight per 

 ibic foot 45 Ibs. April-May. Acorns ripe Sept. -Oct. 

 eaves of seedlings and young shoots incised or pinnatifid, 

 ery bristly. 



519 



(Fig. i. 



! 



10. Quercus Phellos L. Willow ( > 

 (Fig. 1237.) 



Quercus Phellos L. Sp. PI. 994. 1753. 



A tree, with slightly roughened reddish-brown 

 bark, attaining a maximum height of about 80 and 

 a trunk diameter of 3. Leaves narrowly oblong or 

 oblong-lanceolate, entire, acute at both ends, very 

 short-petioled, bristle-tipped, glabrous or very 

 slightly pubescent in the axils of the veins beneath 

 when mature, 2' '-4' long, 4"-! 2" wide; styles slen- 

 der, recurved -spreading; fruit maturing in the au- 

 tumn of the second season; cup saucer-shaped, 

 nearly flat on the l >ase, 4" -6" broad; acorn subglo- 

 bose, 4 // -6 // high. 



In moist woods, I.mg Nland. X. Y t Florida. 

 uri and Texas. Wood strong, rather soft and 

 close-grained, reddish-brown; weight per cubic foot 



46 Ibs. April-May. Acorns ri pi 



Quercus heterophylla Michx. f. Hist. Am. 2: 87. pi. i/>, the Bartram Oak, p;ubably a hybrid of Q. 

 ellos with Q. rubra, but perhaps a distinct species, intermediate in leaf and fruit characters between 

 the two, occurs from Staten Island to North Carolina. Q. Phellos hybridizes also with <J. natta. 



ii. Quercus laurifolia Michx. Laurel 

 Oak. (Fig. 1238.) 



Quercus laurifolia Michx. Hist. Chenes Am. no. 10. 



pi. 17. 1801. 



Trunk sometimes 100 tall, reaching 4 in diam- 

 eter at the base; bark nearly black, with flat ridges. 

 Leaves oblong or oblong-obovate, often somewhat 

 falcate, very green and shining above, paler be- 

 neath, glabrous when mature, ij^'-o' long, 5 // -2 / 

 wide, entire, or those of young shoots undulatc- 

 lobed, the apex bristle-tipped; styles rather short, 

 recurving; fruit maturing in the autumn of the sec- 

 ond season; abortive ovules in the summit of the 

 acorn; cup saucer-shaped, 4 // -6 // wide, its base 

 somewhat rounded, its scales ovate, rounded, ap- 

 pressed; acorn ovoid or nearly hemispheric, 3-4 

 times as long as the cup. 



Along streams and swamps, southeastern Virginia to 

 Florida and Louisiana, mostly near the coast. Wood 

 dark reddish -brown, strong; weight per cubic foot 48 Ibs. 



