CHAP. CV. CORYLA^CE/E. QUE'RCUS. 1875 



t Q. P. 3 acuminata Michx. Fl, Bor. Amer., ii. p. 196., Quer., No. 5. t. 8., 

 and our fig. 1737.; Q. P. acuminata Michx. fil. N. Amer. Syl., i. 

 p. 51. t. 10.; Q. Castanea Willd. Sp. PI., iv. p. 441., Pursh Fl. Amer. 

 Sept., ii. p. 634., N. Du Ham., vii. 

 p. 167., Smith in Rees's Cycl., N. 51., 

 Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. The yellow 

 Oak. Leaves on long footstalks ; 

 obtuse at the base, sharply serrated. 

 Fruit of moderate size ; cup hemi- 

 spherical. (Michx.) The yellow oak, 

 according to the younger Michaux, 

 is a fastigiate-growing tree, from 

 70 ft. to 80 ft. high, and with a trunk 

 about 2 ft. in diameter. The bark is 

 whitish, very slightly furrowed, and 

 sometimes divided into plates. The 

 wood is yellowish; but the tint is 

 not sufficiently bright to entitle it 1637 



to rank among the ornamental woods. The leaves are lanceolate, 

 obtuse at the base, and ending in a sharp point, regularly toothed, 

 of a light green above, and whitish beneath. The acorns are small, 

 roundish-ovate, and contained in shallow slightly scaly cups : they 

 are considered sweeter than those of any other kind of oak in the 

 United States. It is generally found in the middle and western 

 states, taking the banks of the Delaware for its northern boundary, 

 and those of the Savannah for its southern. It is, however, very 

 thinly disseminated, and is frequently lost sight of for several days' 

 journey, even in those states where it is most plentiful. From its 

 comparative rareness, it does not appear to have been applied to any 

 uses in the arts ; and Michaux says that the pores in its wood are 

 so irregularly disposed, and so numerous, that the wood would pro- 

 bably possess very little of either strength or durability. The tree 

 is, however, very ornamental from its beautiful foliage, and fastigiate 

 habit of growth. It was introduced in 1822; and there are plants at 

 Messrs. Loddiges's. 



* Q. P.4<pumla Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., ii. p. 196., Quer., No. 5. t. 9. f. 1. ; 

 Q. P. Chinquapin Michx. fil. Arb., ii. p. 65. t. 10., N. Amer. Syl., 

 i. p. 55. 1. 11., and our fig. 1738.; Q. Chinquapin Pursh Fl. Amer. 

 Sept., ii. p. 634., Smith in Rees's Cycl., No. 

 48.; Q. prinoides Willd. Sp. PL, iv. p. 440., 

 -ZV. Du Ham., vii. p. 166. The Chinquapin, 

 or Dwarf Chestnut, Oak. Leaves on shortish 

 petioles ; somewhat lanceolate ; glaucous be- 

 neath. (Michx,) The dwarf chestnut oak is 

 one of the smallest of the genus, as, according 

 to the younger Michaux, it rarely exceeds 

 30 in. in height ; though Pursh says it grows to 

 the height of 3 ft. or 4 ft. The leaves are oval- 

 acuminate, regularly, but not deeply, dentated, 

 of a light green above, and whitish beneath. 

 The acorns are enclosed, for about one third of 

 their .length, in scaly sessile cups : they are of 

 the middle size, somewhat elongated, similarly rounded at both ends, 

 and very sweet. Nature seems to have sought to compensate for the 

 diminutive size of this shrub by the abundance of its fruit : the stem, 

 which is sometimes no bigger than a quill, is stretched at full length 

 upon the ground by the weight of its thickly clustering acorns. 

 ( N. Amer. Syl., i. p. 56.) This shrub grows most abundantly in the 

 northern and middle states of North America, and is usually found 

 6F 3 



