248 DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



Leaves divided into 3 to 4 pairs of lobes, much like the leaves of the Q. palus- 

 tris ; petioles louger than in Q. rubra, deep-green, shining on both sides ; lobes 

 cut, toothed and acute, turning scarlet with the early frosts. Acorn ovate, 

 half buried in the scaly top-shaped cup. 



Geography. — Indigenous to southeastern North America; the northern 

 limit is southern New England ; commou in the middle and southern Atlantic 

 States. 



Etymology. — Cocclnea is from the Latin coccineus, scarlet, and has ref- 

 erence to the color of the leaves after frost. 



Use. — The wood is largely used for making barrels, and the bark is a 

 favorite with tanners. The tree is also used in planted grounds. 



Var, tinctoria. Gray. (Black Oak. Yellow-barked Oak. Dyers' Oak.) 

 Trunk 70 to 100 feet in height, and 3 to 4 feet in diameter; bark furrowed, 

 dark without, and yellow within. Leaves downy beneath, obovate, oblong, 

 broad-lobed, broadest near the end, sinuses not deep, lobes coarsely toothed, 

 teeth pointed. Acorn flat, globose, half buried in the fiat, thick cup. 



Geography. — The Q. tinctoria is a native of eastern North America, and is 

 widely distributed throughout the eastern and middle States. 



Etymology. — Tinctoria is from the Latin tinctor, a dyer, because the bark 

 furnishes a dye. The popular name, black oak, is due to the color of the bark. 



Use. — The wood of this tree is sometimes used for cooperage and con- 

 struction, and is excellent fuel. The bark is largely used for dyeing ', it yields 

 the querciton, which is much used in calico printing, to give the yellow color 

 to cotton fabrics. It is also used for tanning. 



5. Q. falcata, Mx. (Spanish Oak. Sickle-leaved Oak. Downy-leaved Oak.) 

 Trunk 60 to 70 feet high, 4 to 5 feet in diameter. Bark thick, black, and fur- 

 rowed. Leaves on long petioles, blade 6 inches long, downy beneath, obtuse 

 at the base ; in the northern limits of the tree the leaves take on a slender entire 

 form, widening towards the upper end, where they terminate in three lobes ; 

 further south the usual form of the leaf is in 1 to 2 pairs of pointed, mucro- 

 nate, scythe-like lobes, entire or irregularly and coarsely toothed sinuses, deep 

 and wide. Acorn globular, small ; cuj> shallow. 



Geography. — It is native from southern New Jersey (where it seldom 

 attains a height greater than 40 feet) to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, 

 where it grows to its full size, 60 to 80 feet. It is a subtropical tree, and 

 flourishes best below the parallel of 35°. 



Etymology. — Falcata, the specific name of this tree, is from the Latin word 

 falcatus, scythe-like, from the supposed resemblance of the lobes of the leaves 

 to the shape of a scythe. Spanish oak, the common name, is obscure in its 

 origin and meaning. 



Use. — The Spanish oak is a beautiful, well-formed tree, used for ornamental 

 purposes. The wood is an excellent fuel. The bark is highly charged with 

 tannin, and extensively used in the manufacture of leather. 



6. Q. macrocarpa, Mx, (Moss-cup Oak. Burr Oak. Mo.ssy-cup White 

 Oak.) Trunk .50 to 70 feet high, and 2 to 3 feet in diameter, l)ranchiug into 

 a symmetrical head. Bark grayish, rough, the bark on the I)rauches rough- 

 ened by longitudinal corky ridges. Leaves downy beneath, lyrate, larger than 

 those of any other species, frequently a foot long and 8 inches broad, made up 

 of 3 to 5 pairs of lobes and a terminal one, the terminal lobe greatly expanded 

 and notched. Fruit larger than the fruit of any other species in America. 



