448 NEW ENGLAND TREES IX WINTER. 



PIN OAK 



Swamp Oak, Water Oak. 



Quercus palustris Mueucli. 



H.VBIT — A medium sized tree 40-50 ft. hig-h with trunk diameter of 1-2 

 ft., reaching- a maximum height of over 100 ft. in the lower Ohio 

 basin; trunk tall, straight, continuous up through the pyramidal head; 

 lim):)S numerous, slender; lo'wer limbs shC'rt. drrtopin.:?, upper limbs long"er 

 horizontal or ascending, generally studded with short lateral shoots 

 which g"i^'e rise to the common name. The habit of this tree is very 

 characteristic and is well shown in the two specimens in the illustra- 

 tion. In older trees the head Is more open and irregular. 



lIARIv — Of young trunks and limbs, smooth, shiny, light brown; on 

 older trunks darker, furrowed with close, narrow, firm, low ridges. 



TAVIGS — Slender, reddish-brown to orange, shining. LENTICELS — pale. 

 scattered, inconspicuous. LEAVES — small, obovate or oblong; lobes 

 bristle-tipped, separated by deep-rounded sinuses, resembling leaves of 

 Scarlet Oak but smaller. PITEl — 5-pointed, star-shaped. 



ItlDS — Conical to ovate, generally sharp-pointed, small, 2-4 mm. long. 

 BL'L>- SCALES — light chestnut broT\'n, S(_)metimes slightly hairy on tlie 

 thin margins, 



FRt'lT — Maturing the second season, abundant, sessile or short- 

 stalked, solitary or in pairs or clusters. NUT — light brown, often striate. 

 nearly hemispherical. 10-15 mm. long, wider than long, and generally 

 wider than the cup. CUP — thin, saucer-shaped, 10-15 mm. across, enclos- 

 ing only the base of the nut; scales thin, slightly downy, closely over- 

 lapping. Meat pale yellow, slightly bitter. 



COMPARISONS — "U'hen young the Pin Oak is one of the most easily 

 recognized of any of our trees in winter from its general habit of 

 gro^vth. Its continuous trunk, fringed with slender branches and its 

 [■omparativel>' smooth bark rougiiened only slightly by narrow, low 

 ridges are alone distinctive. Further characteristics are the small 

 sharp -pointed buds and the small acorns "n'^ith saucer- shaped cup. 



DISTRIBUTION — Borders of swamps and river bottoms in deep mois^t 

 rich sriil. C'ntario; south to the valley of the lower Potomac in 

 Virginia: west to Minnesota, east Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and 

 Indian Territory. 



IN NEW^ ENGLAND — Massachusetts — Amherst; Springfield, south to 

 Connecticut, rare; Rhode Island — southern portions, bordering the great 

 Kingston swamp and on the margin of the Pawcatuck River. 



IN CONNECTICUT — Common in the Connecticut river valley and near 

 the coast in southwestern Connecticut; occasional or local elsewhere. 



AVOOD — Heavy, hard, coarse-grained, but liable to warp and check in 



drying; light brown, with thin rather darker colored sap wood; some- 

 times used in construction and for shingles and clapboards. 



