314 TREES IN WINTER 



PIN OAK 

 Swamp Oak, Water Oak. 



Qiiercus 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 illus- 

 tration. 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 indentations, 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. 



FRl'IT — 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. 



COMPARISOIVS — 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 

 Oklahoma. 



IN NEW ENGLAND — Massachusetts — Amherst; bpringfield, south to 

 Connecticut, rare; Connecticut — common in the Connecticut river valley 

 and near the coast in southwestern Connecticut; occasional or local 

 elsewhere; Rhode Island — southern portions, bordering the great Kings- 

 ton swamp and on the margin of the Pawcatuck River. 



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. 



