Our American Oaks. 483 



trast prettily with the deeper or lighter tints of the other spe- 

 cies. 



The tree forms a straight trunk, branching near the ground 

 at large angles, and forming a broad massy head. " It is 

 beautiful," says Emerson, "in every stage of its growth; at 

 first, light, slender, delicate and waving ; at last, broad, mas- 

 sive and grand, but always graceful." 



2. Mossy Cup Oak, (Q. olivseformis.) This is one of the 

 most rare of our oaks. Michaux only observed it in New 

 York, on the banks of the Hudson above Albany. The 

 leaves are light green above, and whitish beneath, and are 

 larger than those of the white oak ; they are very deeply and 

 irregularly cut or lasciniated, with rounded lobes, so various 

 in shape that it is difficult to find two alike. The acorns are 

 elongated, and set in a cup of the same form, deeply fringed 

 at the outer edge with small filaments resembling moss, from 

 whence its name. It attains the height of 60 feet, and its 

 secondary branches are inclined towards the ground, a pecul- 

 iarity which Michaux thinks will " render it a valuable acqui- 

 sition for parks and gardens." 



3. OvERCUP Oak, (Q. macrocarpa.) A fine erect tree, 

 growing in Massachusetts, though scarce, attaining the height 

 of 50 or 60 feet, and remarkable for its very large acorns, 

 deeply enclosed in a cup covered with prominent scales, and 

 bordered by conspicuous flexible filaments. The leaves are 

 also larger than any other oak in the United States, measuring 

 often 15 inches long by 8 broad ; they are notched near the 

 summit and deeply cut below; of a rich dark green on the 

 upper surface, and of a pale glaucous green underneath. 



It is very abundant beyond the Alleghanies, where, in the 

 fertile soils of the West, it attains its greatest beauty. There 

 it is one of the most massive and luxuriant foliaged trees ; but 

 in our colder region, though losing some of its beauty, it is 

 still one of the finest trees which the ornamental planter can 

 introduce. 



4. Swamp White Oak, (Q. prinos tomentosa.) Wherever 

 oaks are seen growing in low grounds, in the vicinity of 

 Boston, they will be found partly of this species. Within a 



