62 Bulletin of the University of Texas 



gated catkins, or rounded heads, pistillate flowers, solitary or 

 clustered. Fruit a one-seeded nut, borne in a prickly bur or 

 seated in a woody, scaly cup. This is the most important 

 economic group of trees occurring in the state. 



Staminate flowers borne in rounded heads; nut tri- 

 angular, borne inside a woody husk armed 

 with recurved prickles 1. Fagus. 



Staminate flowers in elongated slender catkins. 



Nut borne inside a closed woody husk, but 



armed with straight prickles 2. Castanea. 



Nut seated in a scaly, woody cup 3. Quercus. 



1. FAGUS (Tournefort) L. Beech. 



Fagus Americana Sweet. The Beech. A tree usually 

 about 70 to 80 in height, but sometimes larger. The lower 

 branches are drooping, the middle almost horizontal, while 

 the upper are ascending, forming a rather narrow croAvn. 

 Bark light gray, thin, and smooth. Winter buds about one 

 inch long, taper pointed, with light brown scales. Leaves 

 ovate to oblong-ovate, usually rather long taper-pointed with 

 a wedge-shaped or sometimes heart-shaped base. The margin 

 of the leaf is regularly minutely serrate, the veins ending in 

 the apex of the teeth, smooth above, minutely hairy or smooth 

 below. Nuts %'-%' long, triangular, reddish brown, quite 

 hairy. 



Nova Scotia to Ontario and Wisconsin, extending south to 

 the Gulf States and west to Texas. In Texas it extends to 

 the Trinity River. 



The wood is hard, strong, tough, close grained, takes a high 

 polish. It is used for building material, fuel, staves, and 

 heading. The nut is sweet and edible. The tree is not well 

 adapted for ornamental purposes, because the roots grow 

 near the surface, and grass does not thrive under it. 



2. CASTANEA (Tournefort) Adanson. The Chestnut. 



Castanea pumila Miller. Chinquapin. A shrub or medium 

 sized round] topped tree 50' high with spreading slender 

 branches, furrowed scaly bark. Leaves obovate, thick, firm, 

 rounded or pointed at the -apex, wedge shaped or sometimes 

 unequal at the base, sharply toothed, 3'-4' long, ! 1 /> / -2' wide, 



