The Oaks 



Overcup Oak, Swamp Post Oak (Quercus lyrata, Walt.) — 

 Large tree, 70 to 100 feet high, with small pendulous branches 

 forming a symmetrical round head. Bark grey or reddish, fur- 

 rowed and shedding in thick plates. IVood dark brown, strong, 

 heavy, hard, durable. Buds small, blunt pointed, hairy, brown. 

 Leaves obovate, narrowed at base, 6 to 8 inches long, with 3 to 

 5 pairs of oblong or pointed lobes, with wide sinuses, especially 

 the middle pair, bright green above, shining, with dense white 

 down beneath. Acorns annual, short stalked; nut flattened and 

 almost or entirely enclosed by the round, rough-scaled cup; 

 I to i^ inches across. Preferred habitat, coast or river swamps. 

 Distribution, Maryland to Florida; west to Missouri and Texas. 

 Rare except in the Southwest. Uses: Rare in cultivation. 

 Wood confused with white oak in the trade. 



The distinguishing feature of this oak is its button-like 

 acorns. The scaly cup quite swallows up the nut, as a rule. 

 The grey of bark and leaf lining, the narrow, deeply cut leaves, 

 and the strong, durable wood are all characteristics that show 

 this tree's close kinship with the bur oak on one side and the post 

 oak on the other. It grows to majestic proportions in watery 

 ground and wears a luxuriant crown of shining foliage. 



Post Oak, Iron Oak (Quercus minor, Sarg.) — A dense, 

 round-topped tree, scrubby or 40 to 50 feet high, with low, crooked 

 branches and stubby, rough twigs. Bark greyish brown, deeply 

 furrowed, scaly wide ridges; branches brown; twigs brownish 

 with yellow fuzz. IVood pale brown, close grained, hard, strong, 

 heavy, durable in contact with soil. Buds small, round, rusty, 

 downy. Leaves 4 to 5 inches long, clustered, abundant, stiff, 

 rough, dark, shining above, brown woolly beneath, obovate, 

 with 5 to 7 unequal, square-tipped lobes separated by wide 

 sinuses, hanging on all winter, turning yellow or pale brown. 

 Flowers in May with half-grown leaves; staminate catkins, 3 to 4 

 inches long, yellow, hairy; pistillate flowers, almost sessile; 

 stigmas bright red. Acorns annual, f to i inch long, ovoid, brown- 

 ish, in shallow cup of loose, blunt-pointed scales, enclosing only 

 J to I of the nut. Kernel sweet. Preferred habitat, dry, sandy 

 or rocky soil. Distribution, southern Massachusetts to northern 

 Florida; west to Missouri and Texas. Especially common in the 

 Southwest. Uses: Hardy ornamental oak; grows well in dry, 

 rocky soil. Lumber used largely for railroad ties, fuel and 



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