FAGACE.E 305 



base, and acute, rounded, or occasionally truncate at apex surrounded by a narrow ring 

 of rusty pubescence, or sometimes pilose nearly to the middle, bright brown, rather lus- 

 trous, l'-l' long, f'-li' thick, inclosed for about one third its length in the thick cup- 

 shaped cup often broad and flat on the bottom, reddish brown and pubescent within, 

 hoary -tomentose and covered on the outer surface by regularly imbricated ovate acute 

 scales rounded and much thickened on the back, their short tips sometimes forming a rigid 

 fringe-like border to the rim of the cup; seed sweet and edible. 



A tree, often 100 high, with a trunk sometimes free of branches for 40-50, and 3-7 

 in diameter, stout branches ascending at narrow angles and forming a round-topped rather 

 compact head, and stout branchlets at first dark green and covered by pale caducous hairs, 

 becoming bright red-brown or light orange-brown during their first winter and ultimately 

 ashy gray. Winter-buds broadly ovoid or oval, acute, \' long, with thin closely and reg- 

 ularly imbricated dark red puberulous scales with pale margins, those of the inner ranks 

 coated on the outer surface with loose pale tomentum. Bark \'-\' thick, separating into 

 thin closely appressed silvery white or ashy gray scales more or less deeply tinged with red. 

 Wood heavy, hard, very strong, tough, close-grained, durable, easy to split, light-brown, 

 with thin darker colored sap wood; largely used in all kinds of construction, for agricultural 

 implements, wheels, in cooperage, for fences and fuel, and in baskets. 



Distribution. Borders of streams, swamps, and bottom-lands often covered with water; 

 New Jersey (Morristown, Morris County and Pittsgrove, Salem County), near Wilming- 

 ton, Delaware, southward through the coast and middle districts to Putnam (San Mateo) 

 and Citrus Counties, Florida, through the Gulf states to the valley of the Trinity River, 

 Texas, and through Arkansas and southeastern Missouri to central Tennessee and Ken- 

 tucky, the valley of the lower Wabash River, Illinois, and southern Indiana eastward to 

 Jefferson County (C. C. Deam); conspicuous from the silvery white bark, the massive 

 trunk, and the broad crown of large bright-colored foliage. 



53. Quercus montana L. Chestnut Oak. Rock Chestnut Oak. 

 Quercus Prinus Engelm. not L. 



Leaves obovate or oblong to lanceolate, acute or acuminate or rounded at apex, gradu- 

 ally or abruptly cuneate or rounded or subcordate at the narrow entire base, irregularly 

 and coarsely crenulate-toothed with rounded, acute, or sometimes nearly triangular oblique 

 teeth, when they unfold orange-green or bronze-red, very lustrous, and glabrous above with 

 the exception of the slightly pilose midrib, green and coated below with soft pale pubes- 

 cence, at maturity thick and firm or subcoriaceous, yellow-green and rather lustrous 

 on the upper surface, paler and covered by fine pubescence on the lower surface, 4 '-9' 

 long, If '-3' wide, with a stout yellow midrib and conspicuous primary veins, often much 

 broader near the bottom of the tree than on fertile upper branches; turning dull orange 

 color or rusty brown in the autumn; petioles stout or slender, '-!' in length. Flowers: stam- 

 inate in elongated hirsute aments; calyx light yellow, pilose and deeply divided into 7-9 

 acute segments tipped with clusters of pale hairs; pistillate in short spikes on stout puber- 

 ulous dark green peduncles, their involucral scales covered with pale hairs; stigmas dark 

 red. Fruit on short stout stems singly or in pairs; nut ovoid or ellipsoidal, rounded and 

 rather obtuse or pointed at apex, bright chestnut-brown, very lustrous, l'-l|' long, f '-!' 

 thick, inclosed for about half its length or sometimes only at the base in a turbinate or 

 cup-shaped thin cup light brown and pubescent on the inner surface, reddish brown and 

 hoary-pubescent on the outer surface roughened or tuberculate, especially toward the base, 

 by small scales thickened and knob-like with nearly triangular free light brown tips. 



A tree, usually 60-70 or occasionally 100 high, with a trunk 3-4 or rarely 6-7 in 

 diameter, divided generally 15 or 20 above the ground into large limbs spreading into a 

 broad open rather irregular head, and stout branchlets green tinged with purple or bronze 

 color and glabrous or pilose when they first appear, light orange color or reddish brown 

 during their first winter, becoming dark gray or brown; on dry exposed mountain slopes 



