206 Oak (Cupuliferce) 



journey through the ' wilderness ' from Boston to Con- 

 cord, some of their number were made to faint by the 

 powerful odor of the abundant sweet fern, growing in 

 large patches along their way." RALPH WALDO EMER- 

 SON in Atlantic Monthly of January, 1892. 



31. Family CUPULIFER^. (Oak Fam.) 



Flowers, of two kinds on the same plant : the staminate forms in long, 

 slim clusters (or in the beech, in rounded clusters) ; the pistillate, 

 variously arranged. Seed-cases, two- to seven-celled, with one to 

 two young seeds in each cell, but all disappearing in fruit excep- 

 ting one cell and one seed. 



Leaves, simple, alternate, toothed or lobed. 



Fruit, one-celled, one-seeded ; clustered nutlets, or nuts, or acorns. 



GUIDE TO THE GENERA. 



(i) Betula (Birch). (2) Alnus (Alder). (3) Corylus (Hazel-nut). 



(4) Carplnus (Hornbeam). (5) Quercus (Oak). (6) Castanea (Chestnut). 



(i) Genus BETULA, Tourn. (Birch.) 



Flowers, the staminate forms in long, drooping, stemless 

 clusters, golden in spring, appearing with or before 

 the leaves, three blossoms and two small bracts to 

 each shield-like scale ; the pistillate forms in oblong 

 or cylindrical stemmed clusters, two or three blossoms 

 to each three-lobed bract. 



Leaves, simple, alternate, toothed. 



Fruit, clustered, broadly winged, scale-like, crowned with 

 the two stigmas ; a scale-like nutlet. 



Fig. 97. Low Birch. B. pbmila, L. 



Flowers, the pistillate forms in short, erect clusters; 

 clusters of both forms about one half to three quarters 

 of an inch long. 



