IMPORTANT FOREST SPECIES 387 



which maintains the activity of the entire world under the beneficence and splendor 

 of its shade. 



"As the centuries roll by, let us unite in reflecting on the instinctive sentiment of the 

 ancients for inviolable forests and the cultivation of the tree." 



APPENDIX C 



SILVICS OF IMPORTANT FOREST SPECIES. LISTS OF TREES, SHRUBS, 

 AND PLANTS USED IN REFORESTATION IN THE MOUNTAINS 



FRENCH SILVICS OF PEDUNCULATE OAK 



(Quercus pedunculatay 



Size. — Quercus robur.^ Under this name Hooker, De CandoUe, and other eminent 

 authorities include Quercus pedunculata (peduncled oak) and Quercus sessiliflora 

 (English oak), the British representative of the species. 



Pedunculate oak is a species which reaches considerable dimensions. During youth, 

 and up to 40 to 50 years of age, it has an irregular bole but later on the shaft becomes 

 straight, cylindrical, sometimes with a clear length of 65 feet. This tree may reach a 

 height of from 131 to 147 feet and even 190 feet in a few instances; thanks to its very 

 great longevity it reaches large diameters. The Montravail oak, near Saintes (Charente 

 Inferieure Department), is between 6.G and 7.6 feet in diameter at breast height; its 

 main branches have a diameter of 3.3 feet at their base; the total height is 65.6 feet, the 

 crown width 131.7 feet, and it is estimated to be some 2,000 years old. 



Habit. — The crown of pedunculate oak is formed of a few irregularly bent and 

 twisted main branches; the foliage is very unevenly distributed in tufts with wide and 

 numerous openings. . . . The fohage is incomplete and less thick than that of 

 sessile oak. 



Leaves. — Pedunculate oak leaves (more so than those of Quercus sessiliflora) dry 

 up at the end of autumn and drop off immediately, except those of coppice shoots and 

 suckers which are semi-persistent. Of a light green color, sometimes reddish or yellow- 

 ish at the beginning of summer, the leaf is moderately shiny or quite dull; it is of a 

 somewhat sea green (glaucous) hue; frequently it is undulated, more seldom flat. . . . 

 If green and gathered during September, it has an average weight as compared to sessile 

 oak leaves as 34 is to 40. (A. Mathieu.) When used dry as agricultural manure 300 

 to 350 pounds is equal to 100 pounds of straw. Pedunculate oak is . . . much 

 less suitable than sessile oak for pure plantations, since it has a lighter foliage and 

 yields less litter. This is why coppice-under-standards composed of pure sessile oak 

 yields a fair stand while the same cannot be said to be true of pure pedunculate oak. 



This species seems eminently suitable for coppice-under-standards on clayey, moist 

 soils and for high forests when mixed with tolerant species; sessile oak, however, should 

 be preferred to it whenever . . . pure forestation is attempted. 



Seed Capacity. — Pedunculate oak bears acorns from 60 to 100 years of age, accord- 

 ing to whether grown single or in close stand. Sprouts bear acorns as early as 20 years, 

 and even before; but plentiful seed crops occur only 3 to 4 years and even 8 to 10 years 

 according to whether the climate is more or less favorable. An absolute failure of 

 acorns, such as happens with beech between crops, is rare; some few are always to be 

 found on isolated or border trees. 



1 Based on a free translation from French authors. 



2 See also Chapter V. 



