Trees of Neiv York State 175 



FAGACEAE 



Quercus all);i L. 



White Oak 



Habit — A valuable tini1>or species, usually attaining a height of 60-80 feet 

 •\vitli a trunk 2-4 feet in diameter, under optimum conditions sometimca 

 140 feet tall. Trees in dense forest stands have long, clean boles with 

 little taper, bearing aloft a narrow crown. In the open the bole is short 

 and stout and soon breaks up into massive, gnarled, wide-spreading limbs 

 and slender rigid branches to form a broad, open, irregular cro\ra. 



Leaves — Alternate, obovate-oblong, 5-9 inches long, 2-4 inches wide, cuneate 

 at the base, 3-9-lobed, the lobes ascending and blunt and separated by 

 Avide, rounded sinuses which are shallow or may extend nearly to the 

 midrib. Upper lobes irregular, often with secondary lobes at the apex. 

 At maturity leaves thin, firm, glabrous, dull or lustrous and bright green 

 above, paler, smooth and sometimes glaucous beneath. Petioles stout, 

 glabrous, %-l inch long. 



Flowers — Tn our range appearing in late May or early June when the leaves 

 are about one-third grown, monoecious. Staminate flowers ebracteolate, 

 in interrupted, filiform, pendulous, deciduous aments 21/4-3 inches long 

 which are borne on the growth of the preceding season or from the axils 

 of the inner scales of the terminal bud. Calyx campanulate, bright yel- 

 low, pubescent, acutely lobed. Stamens 4-6, with filiform exserted fila- 

 ments and yellow, notched anthers. Pistillate flowers solitary, peduncu- 

 late or nearly sessile, borne in the axils of the leaves of the season, each 

 subtended by broadly ovate, hairy involucral scales. Calyx um-shaped, 

 shallowly lobed, adnate to the ovary. Pistil consisting of a 3-celled 

 (rarely 4-5-celled) ovary surmounted by 3 short, dilated, spreading, red 

 styles stigmatic on the inner surface. 



Fruit — A sessile or pedunculate aconi, ripening the first season. Nut ovoid- 

 oblong, light chestnut-brown and lustrous at maturity, rounded at the 

 apex, about % of an inch long, enclosed about one-fourth its length in 

 the cup. Cup bowl-shaped, somewhat pubescent v^ithin, consisting of 

 numerous scales, those at the base thickened and tubereulate. 



Winter characters — TAA-igs rather slender, pale-lenticellate, lustrous or 

 somewhat glaucous, reddish gray becoming ashy gray the second season. 

 Buds alternate, those near the branch-tip clustered about the terminal 

 bud, broadly ovate, obtuse, reddish brown, about Vs of an inch long. 

 Mature bark light gray or nearly white, thick, divided by shallow fissures 

 into long, irregular, thin scales. 



Habitat — A cosmopolitan species growing on sandy soil, on moist bottom- 

 lands, rich uplands, and stony ridges, preferring rich moist soil. 



Range — Maine to Minnesota, south to Florida and Texas. Zones A, B, 

 and C. 



Uses — An importnut lumber species producing the best grade of oak timber. 

 Wood hard, heavy, strong, durable, pale brown with lighter sapwood. 

 Prized for furniture, tight cooperage, wagonry, railroad ties, etc. 



