1736 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



both species abound in the forest ; and that he could collect a bushel of oak 

 leaves, that would vary in breadth from that of a finger to that of a hand ; and 

 from being perfectly sessile, to having a footstalk 2 in. long. He finds 

 hundreds of very distinct varieties ; and Mr. Childe's wood-cutter informed 

 him that, in regard to the qualities and appearance of the wood, there 

 are three very distinct sorts, which are called the black, the red, and the 

 white oak. The black oak produces the hardest, and the white oak the 

 softest, timber. Specimens of these three kinds of Umber have been sent 

 to us ; and though they are taken from trees of not more than a foot in 

 diameter, the difference of the colour of the heart wood is obvious, though 

 certainly not so much as we expected to see it. 



* 2. Q. SESSILIFLO'RA Sal. The sessile-flowered Oak. 



Identification. Sal. Prod., 392. ; Smith Fl. Br., No. 2. a ; Eng. Bot., t. 1845. 



Synonymes. J&. Rbbur Willd., No^ 64^, Ait., No. 23., Lam. Diet., 1. p. 717., N. Du. Ham., 1. 



p. 176. ; Q. R. var. sessile Mart. Fl, Rust., t. 11. ; . s5ssilis Ehrh. Arb., 87- ; 'Q. platyphyllos, mas 

 et foem., Dalech. Hist., 2. 3. ; Q. latifolia mas, &c., Bauh. Pin., Raii Syn., 440. ; Q. reg&lis Bur- 

 net; Chene male, Secondat, t. iv. f. 1, 2. p. 18. ; Chestnut Oak, Bay Oak; Chene roure or rouvre, 

 Durelin, Fr. ; Stein Eiche, gemeine Eiche, spat Eiche, Winter Eiche, diirr Eiche, roth Eiche, 

 Berg Eiche, Ger. ; Quercia vera, Ital. ; Roble, Span. 



Derivation. The name of Chestnut Oak is given to this species, because its wood is said to resemble 

 that of the sweet chestnut. Bay Oak, from some fancied resemblance of the leaves to those of the 

 laurel bay. The French names imply the male oak, the red oak, and the hard oak. The Ger- 

 man names, the'stone oak, the common oak, the late oak, in allusion to its lateness in leafing ; 

 the winter oak, from its frequently keeping on its leaves during winter ; dry oak, probably from the 

 leaves remaining on the tree after they have become dry and withered ; red oak, from the colour of 

 its wood; and hill oak, from its being more abundant on hilly ground than the Q. pedunculata. 



Engravings. Etig. Bot., t. 1845. ; Mart. Fl. Rust., t. 11. ; N. Du Ham., 7. t. 52. ; Willd. Abbild., 

 1. 130. ; our fig. 1572. ; and the plate of this tree in our last Volume. 



Spec. Char.y fyc. Leaves on longish footstalks, deciduous, oblong, smooth ; 

 sinuses opposite, rather acute ; lobes obtuse. Fruit sessile. Nut oblong. 

 (Smith.) Leaves, when young, pubescent beneath. ( Willd.) A tree, readily 

 distinguished from the preceding species, even 

 at a distance, by the less tufted appearance, 

 and generally paler green, of its foliage during 

 summer ; and, in winter, by its less tortuous 

 spray and branches, by its lighter-coloured bark, 

 by its large buds, and by its frequently retaining 

 its leaves, after they have withered, till the fol- 

 lowing spring. There are trees of this species 

 at Kenwood (which takes its name from the 

 oaks there, being originally Kern Wood, the 

 acorn, or oak, wood); one in the grounds of 

 the Protestant Dissenters' School at Mill Hill, 

 formerly the residence of Peter Collinson ; 

 some, according to Martyn, at Norwood, in 

 Surrey ; and numerous others at Woburn Ab- 

 bey, and at Allesley ; besides those in Wyre 

 Forest, and in many other places which will 

 be hereafter mentioned. There are also speci- 

 mens at Messrs. Loddiges's, and in the Horticultural Society's Garden; and, 

 in 1834, there were thousands of young plants in the Milford Nursery. Ac- 

 cording to Secondat, who wrote in 1785, the kingdom of Naples then boast- 

 ed of a great many oaks of this species, where it was known under the name 

 of Quercia vera. 

 Varieties. 



t Q. s. 2 pubcscens; Q. s. var Smith Eng. FL, vol. iv. p. 150. ; Q. pu- 

 bescens Willd. Sp. PI,, iv. p. 450., Abbild., t. 141., and our/g 1573., 

 Q.R.lnnuginosum Lam. Diet., i.p.717.; the Durmast, Mart. Fl. Jtust., 

 t. 12. Leaves downy beneath. Fruit sessile, but sometimes subses- 

 sile. The flowers appear in May, and the fruit ripens in October. 

 Found occasionally in most of the oak woods of Europe ; and, ac- 

 cording to Willdenow, having the same general appearance, attaining 

 the same height, and living to the same age, as Q. sessiliflora. In 



1572 



