Water Oak 



299 



lowish before falling; their leaf-stalks are stout, grooved, 5 to 10 mm. long, smooth 

 or hairy, yellowish. The flowers appear from March to May, according to lati- 

 tude, when the leaves are half unfolded, the staminate in clustered hairy catkins 

 5 to 10 cm. long, their calyx reddish and hairy, the 4 or 5 lobes ovate and rounded ; 

 stamens usually 4, slightly exserted; anthers oblong, sharp-pointed, red. The pis- 

 tillate flowers are on short hairy stalks, their involucral scales brown- woolly, about 

 equaling the length of the sharp-pointed calyx-lobes; styles short, broad, sUghtly 

 reflexed and red. The fruit, ripening in the autumn of the second year, is soli- 

 tary, or 2 together, short-stalked; nut subglobose or ovoid, i to 2 cm. long, light 

 brown, more or less woolly coated inside; cup depressed hemispheric, constricted 

 at the base, 12 to 20 mm. across, light brown on the iimer surface, embracing 

 about one half of the nut and covered by large scales, the smaller upper scales 

 forming a loose rim around the top of the cup. 



The wood is hard and strong, coarse-grained and dark brown; its specific 

 gravity is about 0.73. It checks badly and is seldom used except for fuel and 

 the production of charcoal. 



This is a handsome tree and will add pleasing variety to any landscape into 

 which it may be introduced, though it is of very slow growth. 



Several supposed hybrids are recorded, Britton's Oak, Q. Brittoni Davis, of 

 Staten island. New York, is considered a cross with the Bear oak, Q. ilicijolia. 

 A cross with the Black oak, Q. velutina Lamarck, from the Indian Territory, has 

 also been reported. 



It is also called Black Jack, Barren oak. Barrens oak. Iron oak. Jack oak, and 

 Scrub oak. 



16. WATER OAK — Quercus nigra Linnaeus 



Quercus aquatica Walter 



A tree of wet sandy soils, by streams or 

 swamps, occurring from southern Delaware to 

 Florida, Missouri, Termessee, and Texas, reach- 

 ing a maximum height of about 30 meters, with 

 a trunk diameter of i m. 



The numerous branches are rather slender, 

 spreadiug or ascending, the outline of young 

 trees being nearly conic, the fully developed ones 

 round-topped. The bark is up to 18 mm. thick, 

 nearly smooth, with a scaly surface of a light 

 brown or reddish brown color. The twigs are 

 slender, smooth, reddish, becoming gray to brown. 

 The winter buds are ovoid, angular, sharp- 

 pointed, their brown hairy scales slightly fringed. 

 The leaves are mostly oblanceolate or spatulate. 



Fig. 231. — Water Oak. 



5 to 15 cm. long, very variable, entire, with a large terminal lobe, sometimes 3- 



