FAGACEAE 

 Red Oak 



Quercus rubra L. 



HABIT. A large tree 70-80 feet high, with a trunk diameter 

 of 2-4 feet; forming a broad, rounded crown of a few large, 

 wide-spreading branches and slender branchlets. 



LEAVES. Alternate, simple, 5-9 inches long, 4-6 inches 

 broad; oval to obovate; S-n-lobed with coarse-toothed, bristle- 

 tipped lobes tapering from broad bases and wide, oblique, 

 rounded sinuses; thin and firm; dull dark green above, paler 

 beneath; petioles stout, 1-2 inches long. 



FLOWERS. April-May, when the leaves are half grown ; 

 monoecious; the staminate in hairy catkins 4-5 inches long; the 

 pistillate on short, glabrous peduncles ; calyx 4-5-lobed, greenish ; 

 corolla o; stamens 4-5, with yellow anthers; stigmas long, spread- 

 ing, bright green. 



FRUIT. Autumn of second season; sessile or short-stalked 

 acorns; cup shallow, saucer-shaped, inclosing only the base of 

 the nut; scales closely appressed, more or less. glossy, puberulous, 

 bright red-brown; nut oblong-ovoid with a broad base, about I 

 inch long, red-brown ; kernel white, very bitter. 



WINTER-BUDS. Terminal bud % inch long, ovoid, acute, 

 light brown, smooth. 



BARK. Twigs lustrous, green, becoming reddish, finally 

 dark brown ; young trunks smooth, gray-brown ; old trunks 

 darker, shallowly fissured into thin, firm, broad ridges; inner 

 bark light red, not bitter. 



WOOD. Heavy, hard, strong, coarse-grained, light red- 

 brown, with thin, darker colored sapwood. 



DISTRIBUTION. Southern portion of Lower Peninsula 

 as far north as Roscommon County, and sparingly in the more 

 northern parts of the state. 



HABITAT. Prefers rich, moist loam; glacial drift; stream- 

 banks. Grows well in all well-drained soils. 



NOTES. Grows rapidly. A good street tree. 

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