OAK FAMILY 



]Vood. — Light brown ; hard, strong. 



Winter Buds . — Dark chestnut brown, ovate, obtuse, one-eighth 

 of an inch long. 



Leaves. — Alternate, two to five inches long, one and one-half to 

 two and one-half inches wide, wedge-shaped at base, usually five- 

 lobed, sometimes three, sometimes seven-loljed ; every lobe bristle- 

 tipped; sinuses wide and shallow; form of lobes variable. They 

 come out of the bud convolute, dull red and coated with tomentum, 

 when half grown are pale green ; when full grown thick, dark green 

 and sliining above, covered with pale or sihery pubescence below ; 

 nridribs stout, yellow, primary veins conspicuous. In autumn 

 they turn dull red or yellow. Petioles slender, terete, downy, one 

 to one and one-half of an inch long. Stipules linear, caducous. 



Flowers. — May, when leaves are half grown. Staminate flowers 

 are borne in reddish, hairy aments four to five inches long which often 

 remain until midsummer. Calyx is red or reddish green, hairy, 

 three to five rounded lobes, shorter than the stamens. Stamens 

 three to five ; filaments short ; anthers bright red, becoming yellow. 

 Bracts linear, red, hairy. Pistillate flowers borne on stout tomen- 

 tose peduncles. Involucral scales red, as long as the calyx lobes, 

 tomentose ; stigmas dark red. 



Acorns. — Abundant, ripen in autumn of second year, sessile or 

 stalked, in pairs or solitary. Nut somewhat variable in form, ovoid, 

 broad, acute or rounded at apex, one-half inch long, light brown, 

 shining, sometimes striate; cup cup-shaped, embracing half the nut, 

 thick, light reddish brown, tlie free tips of upper scales forming a 

 fringe-like border. Kernel deep yellow. 



This little, straggling, slirubb}^ oak loves rocky hillsides 

 and dry sandy barrens. Wlierever it grows it indicates 



the sterility uf the soil. The 

 name Scrub Oak follows it every- 

 where, but the early settlers of 

 New England called it Bear Oak 

 as well, because the bears loved 

 its bitter little acorns. It pro- 

 duces tiiese in great numbers ; 

 a fruiting branch is often very 

 picturesque because of them. It 

 rarely rises more than six or 

 eight feet and its stem is usually one or two inches in diam- 

 eter. Both leaves and acorns are variable in form. 



This is one of the gregarious trees, it is never found as a 



368 



Bear Oak, Qiicrcii': ilicifolia 

 Acorns 54' long. 



