100 



TIMBER TREES OF ^'ORTH CAROLINA. 



linelj ridged bark, and smooth gray branches which form an oval 

 top, reaching a height of 175 and a diameter of 1 feet. 



It occurs from Maine to Ontario, Minnesota, and Nebraska, and 

 sou«:h to Xorth Carolina; reaching its best development in the 

 lower Ohio basin. It is usually confounded with the black oak. 



In North Carolina, where it attains a height of 80 and a diam- 

 eter of 3i feet, it occurs sparingly in the coastal plain on sandy 

 loam, bat is more common in the Piedmont plateau on gravelly 

 loam growing with the post oak, white oak, and short-leaf pine. 

 In the mountains, at an elevation of 2,500 to 3,500 feet, it is one 

 of the commonest trees. (Fig- 24-.) 



The scarlet oak bears acorns plentifully every 2 or 3 years, and 

 young plants are common through the woods in many of the west- 

 ern counties. Only young trees sprout readily from the stump. 

 Trees over 3 feet in diameter are usually hollow or red-liearted, 

 dry rot causing the defect. 



The thin smooth leaves are on long slender stems and deeply 

 cut into long lobes by broad round notches. They turn to a brill- 

 iant scarlet in the autumn. The small oval acorns are strongly 

 pointed and half-imbedded in a deep coarsely-scaled cup. The 

 slender, slightly angled winter-buds are pointed, and, like the 

 slender twigs, smooth and reddish. The root system of older 

 trees is distinctly lateral, many of the roots being superficial, or 

 frequently exposed. 



