FOREST TREES OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 311 



the second year, for in addition to ripe acorns, immature ones were found on 

 the season's smooth, reddish-brown twigs. Mature acorns (fig. 14.". ), regarded 

 as the most distinctive character, were invariably of the same form on all of 

 the trees seen. The sharply pointed nut is smooth, somewhat lustrous, and a 

 dull light brown, while the uniformly very shallow cups — on short stems — have 

 very close, smooth, pale brown scales. 



Wood, not examined, but judged to be essentially like that of Quercus trisli- 

 geni. Nothing is now known of the age attained. 



The affinities of this oak place it between Quercus agrifolia and Q. wislizeni, 

 and nearer to the latter. The writer has not seen the bushy trees Prof. ( '. S. 

 Sargent has described and figured (Silva, VIII. Pi. CCCCVI, f. <i), occurring 

 in Snow Creek Canyon at the base of Mount San Jacinto, which, as nearly as 

 can be judged from the note and figure, is Quercus pricei. Professor Sargent 

 considers this shallow-cupped oak (not seen elsewhere) a form of Quercus 

 wislizeni. The trees found at Dani's Ranch gave every promise of later becom- 

 ing very much larger. 



OCCURRENCE. 



Dry, gravelly banks of streams, within reach of deep soil moisture. 

 Forms small, pure groups. 



Climatic Conditions. — Similar to Wislizcnus oak. 

 Tolerance. — Very tolerant of shade. 



Reproduction. — At least an abundant periodic seeder, but fruiting habits and repro- 

 duction undetermined. 



Morehus Oak. 



Quercus morehus Kellogg. 

 DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS. 



Morehus oak is a rare and little known California tree of the black oak 

 group. It was first found about 1863, and since then many new stations for it 

 have been and are still being discovered. It is held by some authors to be a 

 hybrid from Quercus wislizeni and Q. californica. Its acorns bear a strong 

 resemblance to those of the first oak, while its leaves (fig. 144) are similar in 

 texture to those of the latter oak. The remarkably uniform shape (within rea- 

 sonable limits) of the leaves borne by widely separated individuals, and the 

 tact that the parents suggested are by no means always within the same 

 locality — one or the other, sometimes both, often very far distant from the sup- 

 posed offspring — has led the writer to treat this oak as a species. Generally 

 Iroin 10 to •"."» feet high and :\ to 8 inches in diameter, with smooth, dark ashy- 

 gray bark. The branches of small, shrubby trees often trend upward, while 

 those of the larger trees stand out horizontally from the trunk, which is free 

 of limbs for about one-third of its length. The leaves, which are shed from 

 midwinter to spring, are dark yellow-green and smooth on the upper sides and 

 llghl yellow-green and smooth or more or less covered with tine star-shaped 

 hairs beneath. The acorns, maturing in the autumn of the second year, are 

 usually from 1£ to 14 inches long. The light reddish-brown cups inclose from 

 about one-third to two-thirds of the nut. which is somewhat thicker than that of 

 Q. wislizeni. Wood similar in general appearance to that of Q. californica, but 

 the thicker, whitish sapwood is considerably tougher; not fully investigated. 

 Of no economic importance and of slight interest to the forester, because of the 

 tree's rare occurrence. 



Longevity. — Not fully determined. Believed to be rather long-lived. A single 

 tree, 12J inches in diameter, showed an age of G4 years. 



