OAK FAMILY 



Acorns. — Annual, sessile or stalked, solitary or in pairs; nut oval, 

 rounded at apex, pubescent at apex, from one-half to one inch in 

 length, light chestnut brown ; cup cup-shaped inclosing one half of 

 the nut, thin light brown and downy inside, red brown outside, to- 

 mentose, scales thickened at the base, tips free toward the edge and 

 forming a fringe at the rim. Kernel sweet. 



The Yellow Oak is one of the mid-continental trees, abun- 

 dant throughout the Mississippi valley and reaching the 

 greatest size in southern Indiana and Illinois. Like Qtter- 

 ctis alba it frequently occurs with a white bark. The three 



chestnut oaks, Querciis prinus, 

 Qicercus acuminata, and Querciis 

 prinoides run into each other by 

 insensible gradations, and speci- 

 mens will always be found on 

 the border line that will puzzle 

 the observer. Often when the 

 leaves vary, the acorns will fix the 

 species. Those of the Yellow 

 Oak are small compared with 

 those of the others. All are to a 

 certain degree edible. 



The foliage mass of the Yel- 

 low Oak is a light yellow green. The leaves unfold a bronze 

 green, the newest sometimes with a purple tinge, and are 

 so crowded at the end of the branchlets that the foliage 

 has a tufted look. The autumnal tint is yellow, sometimes 

 flushed with scarlet. 



Yellow Oak, Qucrcus acuminata. 

 Acorn ^' to i' long. 



DWARF CHINQUAPIN OAK. SCRUB CHESTNUT OAK 



Qucrcus prinoides. 



A shrub growing in clumps, varying in height from two to twelve 

 feet. Ranges from Massachusetts to North Carolina, westward to 

 Missouri, Nebraska, central Kansas, Indian Territory and eastern 

 Texas. In Missouri and Kansas becoming tree-like. Prefers dry 

 sandy or rocky soil. 



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