232 TREES OF NORTH AMERICA 



states, and of its largest size in the region north of the Ohio River; less common 

 and usually of smaller size southward. 



Often planted as an ornamental or shade tree in the northeastern states and in 

 the countries of western and northern Europe; generally more successful in Europe 

 than other American Oaks. 



2. Quercus palustris, Muench. Pin Oak. Swamp Spanish Oak. 

 Leaves obovate, narrowed and wedge-shaped or broad and truncate at the base, 

 divided by wide deep sinuses rounded at the bottom into 5-7 lobes, the terminal 

 lobe ovate, acute, 3-toothed toward the apex or entire, the lateral lobes spreading or 

 oblique, sometimes falcate, especially those of the lowest pair, gradually tapering 

 and acute at the dentate apex or obovate and broad at the apex, when they unfold 

 light bronze-green stained with red on the margins, lustrous and puberulous above, 



coated below and on the petioles with pale scurfy pubescence, at maturity thin and 

 firm, dark green and very lustrous above, pale below, with large tufts of pale hairs 

 in the axils of the primary veins, 4'-6' long, 2'-4' wide, with stout midribs and con- 

 spicuous primary veins, late in the autumn turning gradually deep scarlet; their 

 petioles slender, yellow, fy-2' long. Flowers : staminate in hairy aments 2'-3' long; 

 calyx puberulous and divided into 4 or 5 oblong rounded segments more or less 

 laciniately cut on the margins, shorter than the stamens; pistillate on short tomentose 

 peduncles, their involucral scales broadly ovate, tomentose, shorter than the acumi- 

 nate calyx-lobes; stigmas bright red. Fruit sessile or short-stalked, solitary or clus- 

 tered; acorn nearly hemispherical, about \' in diameter, light brown, often striate, 

 inclosed only at the base in a thin saucer-shaped cup dark red-brown and lustrous 

 within, and covered by closely appressed ovate light red-brown thin puberulous 

 scales. 



A tree, usually 70-80 high, with a trunk 2-3 in diameter, often clothed with 

 small tough drooping branches, or when crowded in the forest sometimes 120 high, 

 with a trunk 60-70 tall and 4-5 in diameter, slender branches beset with short- 

 ridged spur-like laterals a few inches in length, forming while young a broad sym- 

 metrical pyramidal head, becoming open and irregular, with rigid and more pendu- 

 lous branches often furnished with small drooping branchlets, and slender tough 



