CHAP. IV. 



COltYLAY'EJK. QUE'ltCUS. 



GENUS I. 



1717 



QUE'RCUS . THE OAK. L/w. Syst. MonoeVia Polyandria. 



Identification. 



t. ;,7. 



Lin. Gen., 495. ; Juss., 410. ; Fl. Br., 1025. ; Tourn., t. 349. ; Lam., t. 779. ; Gacrtn., 



Synont/nies. /'lex Tourn. ; S\\ber Tourn. ; Derv/, Celtic ; Aaack, or Ac, Saxon ; Al, Alon, or Allun, 



Hebrew ; Drus, Greek ; Chenc, Fr. ; Eiche, Ger. ; Eik, Dutch ; Quercia, Ital. ; Encina, Snan. 

 Dcr/t'titicm. From qucr, fine, and cuez, a tree, Celtic, according to Lepelletier : but, according to 





others, from the Greek word choiros, a pig ; because pigs feed on the acorns. The Celtic name 

 for this tree (Derw) is said to be the root of the word Druid (that is, priest of the oak), and of the 

 Greek name Drus. The Hebrew name for the oak (Al, or Alon) is said to be the origin of the old 

 English word I/an (originally signifying an oak grove, or place of worship of the druids, and after- 

 wards, by implication, a town or parish), and also of the Irish words clan and dun. In the Book of 

 Isaiah, xliv. 14., idols are said to be made of Allun, or Alon ; that is, of oak. (Lawth's Trans.) 



Description. The oaks are trees of temperate climates, mostly of large 

 size, and, in point of usefulness to man, only to be equalled by the pine and 

 fir tribe. The latter may be considered the domestic, and the former the 

 defensive, trees of civilised society, in the temperate regions throughout 

 the world. The oak, both in Europe and America, is the most majestic 

 of forest trees. It has been represented by Marquis (Reck. Hist., &c.) 

 as holding the same rank among the plants of the temperate hemispheres 

 that the lion does among quadrupeds, and the eagle among birds ; that 

 is to say, it is the emblem of grandeur, strength, and duration ; of force that 

 resists, as the lion is of force that acts. In short, its bulk, its longevity, and 

 the extraordinary strength and durability of its timber, attest its superiority 

 over all other trees, for buildings that are intended to be of great duration, 

 and for the construction of ships. In one word, it is the king of forest 

 trees. The trunk of the oak is not, in general, remarkable either for its 

 length, straightness, or freedom from branches, except when it is drawn up 

 among other trees. In an open situation, the larger species send out nu- 

 merous very large horizontal branches, so as to form a head broader than the 

 tree is high. The branches, in many of the species, are tortuous towards 

 their extremities, and furnished with numerous twigs, or spray. The main 

 root of the oak, in most species, descends perpendicularly to a considerable 

 depth, unless the subsoil be unpropitious : but it also extends horizontally as 

 widely as the branches ; thus taking a firmer hold of the ground than any other 

 tree, with the exception, perhaps, of the walnut, and one or two others. The 

 surface roots, in only one or two species, throw up suckers. The leaves vary 

 in different sections of the genus. In what are called oaks by way of emi- 

 nence, such as Quercus .ffobur, Q. riibra, and Q,. ferris, which may be con- 

 sidered as the heads of three great families, they are of a shape which is rarely, 

 if at all, to be found in any other genus of plants. The lanceolate leaves of 

 the willow, the cordate leaves of the poplar, and the pinnate leaves of the 

 ash or the acacia, are to be found in many genera ; but not so the lobed 

 and sinuated leaves of the oaks of the three sections above mentioned. In 

 other sections, such as that represented by Q. Phellos and Q. / v lex, the leaves 

 are entire, and may be considered as exhibiting commonplace forms. In 

 most of the species, and especially in the larger trees, the leaves are deci- 

 duous ; but in some sections, as in Q,. /Mex and Q. virens, they are evergreen. 

 The flowers are in all inconspicuous, without corollas, and, in general, ap- 

 pearing with, or before, the leaves. The female flowers are, as in most amen- 

 taceous plants, less numerous than the male flowers ; and, while the male 

 flowers are, for the most part, on pendulous catkins, the female flowers are in 

 many cases sessile. The fruit is in all an acorn ; a name in common use, and a 

 form every where known in the temperate climates of the northern hemisphere. 

 This fruit is as distinct in its character and appearance from all other fruits, 

 as tike leaves of the common oaks are from all other leaves. The form and 

 size of the nut of the acorn do not differ nearly so much as might be ima- 



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