AMENTIFERZ. 157 
Sup-Srecires I.—Quercus sessiliflora. Salisb. 
Prats MCCLXXXIX, 
Reich. Ic. Fl. Germ. et Helv. Vol. XTI. Tab. DOXLIV. Fig. 1309. 
G. Robur, Willd. Reich. Ic. 1. c. p. 7. 
G. Robur, var. (3, sessiliflora. Hook. & Arn. Brit. Fl. ed. viii. p.417. Bab. Man. Brit. 
Bot. ed. vi. p. 319. Benth. Handbk. Brit. Fl. ed. ii. p. 422. 
Leaves conspicuously stalked, regularly sinuate-pinnatifid; lobes 
. generally divided less than half-way down to the midrib, and becoming 
smaller towards or not extending to the apex, the sinus between them 
commonly forming nearly a right angle or an obtuse angle. Fruit 
peduncle shorter than the acorn, and usually shorter than the petiole. 
Var. a, genuina. 
Q. sessiliflora, Leight. Fl. Shrop. p. 474. 
Petioles long. Peduncle shorter than the cup of the acorn. 
Var. B, intermedia. 
G. intermedia, Don.; Leight. Fl. Shrop. p. 473. 
Petioles rather short. Peduncle longer than the cup of the acorn. 
In woods, copses, hedgerows, &c. Less common than Q. pedun- 
culata, though as widely distributed. Apparently rare and local in 
Ireland, and only known to occur in the north. 
England, Scotland, Ireland. Tree. Spring. 
Generally a smaller tree than Q. pedunculata, with the leaves larger, 
broader, flatter, and with more of the aspect of those of the sweet- 
chestnut, the petiole longer, and the base more gradually attenuated 
into it; besides this, the acorns are on peduncles so short as to be 
almost sessile, at the same time the two subspecies appear to pass 
insensibly into each other, as shown in a paper by the late Dr. 
Greville in Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. i. p. 65. 
Sessile-fruited Oak. 
French, Chéne a fruits sessiles. German, Trauben-Eiche. 
In comparing the wood of the two species of British oak, that of Q. pedunculata is 
found the most easy to split, and the stiffest and easiest to break, and yet the most 
difficult to bend, while that of Q. sessiliflora has the advantage in toughness and 
weight. Notwithstanding this comparison, the wood of both kinds is used indiscrimi- 
nately for all purposes, and the remarks made on the former species are equally 
applicable to the present one. The beauty of oak foliage is universally allowed, but 
that of Q. sessilijlora may be said to be most admired in single leaves, and that of the 
other species in tufts of leaves. This species is known by the name of Durmast, and 
the characteristics of its wood are said to depend on the smaller proportion of silver 
