448 NEW ENGLAND TREES IN WINTER. 



PIN OAK 

 Swamp Oak, Water Oak. 



Quercus palustris Muench. 



HABIT A medium sized tree 40-50 ft. high with trunk diameter of 1-2 

 ft., reaching a maximum height of over 100 ft. in the lower Ohio 

 basin; trunk tall, straight, continuous up through the pyramidal head; 

 limbs numerous, slender; lower limbs short, drooping, upper limbs longer 

 horizontal or ascending, generally studded with short lateral shoots 

 which give rise to the common name. The habit of this tree is very 

 characteristic and is well shown in the two specimens in the illustra- 

 tion. In older trees the head is more open and irregular. 



BARK Of young trunks and limbs, smooth, shiny, light brown; on 

 older trunks darker, furrowed with close, narrow, firm, low ridges. 



TWIGS Slender, reddish-brown to orange, shining. LENTICELS pale, 

 scattered, inconspicuous. LEAVES small, obovate or oblong; lobes 

 bristle-tipped, separated by deep-rounded sinuses, resembling leaves of 

 Scarlet Oak but smaller. PITH 5-pointed, star-shaped. 



BUDS Conical to ovate, generally sharp-pointed, small, 2-4 mm. long. 

 BUD-SCALES light chestnut brown, sometimes slightly hairy on the 

 thin margins. 



FRUIT Maturing the second season, abundant, sessile or short- 

 stalked, solitary or in pairs or clusters. NUT light brown, often striate, 

 nearly hemispherical, 10-15 mm. long, wider than long, and generally 

 wider than the cup. CUP thin, saucer-shaped, 10-15 mm. across, enclos- 

 ing only the base of the nut; scales thin, slightly downy, closely over- 

 lapping. Meat pale yellow, slightly bitter. 



COMPARISONS When young the Pin Oak is one of the most easily 

 recognized of any of our trees in, winter from its general habit of 

 growth. Its continuous trunk, fringed with slender branches and its 

 comparatively smooth bark roughened only slightly by narrow, low 

 ridges are alone distinctive. Further characteristics are the small 

 sharp-pointed buds and the small acorns with saucer-shaped cup. 



DISTRIBUTION Borders of swamps and river bottoms in deep moist 

 rich soil. Ontario; south to the valley of the lower Potomac in 

 Virginia; west to Minnesota, east Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and 

 Indian Territory. 



IN NEW ENGLAND Massachusetts Amherst; Springfield, south to 

 Connecticut, rare; Rhode Island southern portions, bordering the great 

 Kingston swamp and on the margin of the Pawcatuck River. 



IN CONNECTICUT Common in the Connecticut river valley and near 

 the coast in southwestern Connecticut; occasional or local elsewhere. 



WOOD Heavy, hard, coarse-grained, but liable to warp and check in 

 drying; light brown, with thin rather darker colored sapwood; some- 

 times used in construction and for shingles and clapboards. 



