322 



The Oaks 



2.5 to 7 cm. long, blunt and rounded, or seldom sharp-pointed at the apex, rounded 

 or heart-shaped at the base, entire, shghtly wavy, or rarely toothed on the mar- 

 gin; they are thick and firm, bluish green, smooth or slightly hairy, with a yel- 

 lowish midrib above, yellowish green, covered with brownish hairs, but becoming 

 smooth, with prominent venation beneath when old, persistent imtil the new 

 leaves appear; the leaf -stalk is slender, hairy, 6 to 12 mm. long. The flowers 

 open in April or May in clustered numerous slender hairy catkins 5 to 7.5 cm. 

 long, their calyx slightly hairy and yellow; stamens exserted, their anthers oblong, 

 shghtly notched, smooth and yellow. The pistillate flowers are on slender stalks, 

 their involucral scales broad and hairy; styles short, broad and spreading. The 

 fruit, ripening the first season, is usually short-stalked; nut oblong or oval, 18 to 

 25 nmi. long, dark brown and striped, soon becoming fighter colored; cup deeply 

 saucer-shaped or top-shaped, 12 to 18 mm. across, fight brown and hairy inside, 

 embracing about one third of the nut, covered by ovate brownish pale wooUy 

 scales, those at the base of the cup thickened. 



The wood is hard, strong but brittle, close-grained, dark brown; its specific 

 gravity is about 0.94. It checks badly on drying, and is probably used only for 

 fuel. 



A probable hybrid with Q. dumosa is reported. 



40. TOUMEY'S OAK — Quercus Toumeyi Sargent 



This smaU-leaved, fittle known oak occurs, in so far as known, only in Ari- 

 zona, where it attains a height of 10 meters, with 

 a trunk diameter of 2 dm. 



The short trunk forks into several widely- 

 spreading branches. The bark is 18 mm. thick, 

 deeply furrowed, dark reddish brown with thin 

 close scales. The twigs are slender, reddish and 

 hairy, becoming dark brown to nearly black. 

 The leaves are oblong, ovate-oblong to oval, 1.5 

 to 2 cm. long, sharp and bristle-pointed, rounded 

 or heart-shaped at the base, entire or sometimes 

 sfightly bristle-toothed on the somewhat revolute 

 margin; they are firm, bluish green, smooth and 

 shining, with slender raised midrib above, short 

 hairy and finely reticulate-veined beneath, per- 

 sisting until the new leaves form; the leaf-stalk 

 is stout and woolly, about 2 mm. long. The 

 fruit is sessile, soUtary or two together, ripening 

 Fig. 277. — Tourney's Oak. ^ ^^^^^ summer of the first year; nut narrowly 



ovoid, 12 to 18 mm. long, bright brown and shining, the apex hairy; cup saucer- 

 shaped depressed-hemispheric, about 10 mm. across, bright brown and hairy in- 



