328 



The Oaks 



diameter of 2.5 m.; in its northeastern range it scarcely exceeds one third these 

 dimensions. 



The trunk is tall and straight, often widely buttressed at the base. The branches 

 are relatively small, and the tree usually round-topped. The bark is up to 5 cm. 

 thick, close, rough, broken into gray or sometimes brownish scales. The twigs 

 are slender, reddish green and hairy, becoming smooth and passing through vari- 

 ous shades of brown to gray-brown. The buds are ovoid, sharp-pointed, 3 to 5 

 mm. long, covered with brown scales. The leaves are crowded toward the ends 

 of the branches, oblong, lanceolate or sometimes obovate, 0.5 to 2 dm. long, 



usually taper-pointed, generally narrow and 

 wedge-shaped, or seldom slightly rounded or 

 heart-shaped at the base, coarsely toothed; 

 they are thick and rather firm, bright green, 

 smooth and shining, with impressed yellow- 

 ish midrib above, pale or often nearly white, 

 more or less hairy and conspicuously veined 

 beneath, turning orange and scarlet before 

 falling in the autumn; the leaf-stalk is slen- 

 der, round or slightly flattened, i to 3 cm. 

 long. The flowers appear with the leaves in 

 spring; the staminate catkins 7.5 to 10 cm. 

 long, their calyx-lobes fringed, yellowish ; sta- 

 mens numerous, their anthers oblong, shghtly 

 notched, smooth and yellow. The pistillate 

 flowers are sessile, often spicate, thickly 

 covered with white downy hairs; styles short, 

 broad, spreading and Ught red. The fruit, ripening in the first autumn, is sessile 

 or nearly so, solitary or 2 together; nut ovoid, about 1.5 to 2 cm. long, brown; 

 seed sweet and edible; cup hemispheric, 13 to 18 mm. across, brown and hairy 

 inside rather thin, embracing about one half the nut, covered by scales with 

 thickened bases, and brownish tips often forming a fringe aroimd the rim. 



The wood is hard, very strong, close-grained ; its specific gravity is about 0.86. 

 It is rather difficult to season, but is used for fencing, railroad ties, and barrels. 

 This tree should be seen more frequently in parks and on lawns, to which 

 its handsome form and foliage would add additional beauty. 



It is also called Yellow chestnut oak, Chinquapin scrub oak, Dwarf chestnut 

 oak. Scrub oak. White oak. Rock oak, Pin oak and Narrow-leaved chestnut oak. 



Fig. 284. — Yellow Oak. 



48. ALEXANDER'S OAK — Qnercus Alexanderi Britton 



This relative of the Yellow oak has long been confused with that species, 

 which it resembles in general appearance but differs in its flaky bark and usually 

 broader leaves. It occurs in rich bottom lands and is known from Vermont to 



