100 



TIMBER TREES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



finely ridged bark, and smooth gray branches which form an oval 

 -top, reaching a height of 175 and a diameter of 4 feet. 



It occurs from Maine to Ontario, Minnesota, and Nebraska, and 

 south to North Carolina; reaching its best development in the 

 lower Ohio basin. It is usually confounded with the black oak. 



In North Carolina, where it attains a height of SO and a diam- 

 eter of 3£ feet, it occurs sparingly in the coastal plain on sandy 

 loam, but is more common in the Piedmont plateau on gravelly 

 loam growing with the post oak, white oak, and short-leaf pine. 

 In the mountains, at an elevation of 2,500 to 3,500 feet, it is one 

 of the commonest trees. (Fig- 24.) 



LEGEND 

 Area in which the SCARLET OAK is X" 

 abundant 



(Quercus coccinea, Muench.) 



Areas in which the SCARLET OAK occurs 

 rarely. . 



The scarlet, oak bears acorns plentifully every 2 or 3 years, and 

 young plants are common through the woods in many of the west- 

 ern counties. Only young trees sprout readily from the stump. 

 Trees over 3 feet in diameter are usually hollow or red-hearted, 

 dry rot causing the defect. 



The thin smooth leaves are on long slender stems and deeply 

 cut into long lobes by broad round notches. They turn to a brill- 

 iant scarlet in the autumn. The small oval acorns are strongly 

 pointed and half-imbedded in a deep coarsely-scaled cup. The 

 slender, slightly angled winter-buds are pointed, and, like the 

 slender twigs, smooth and reddish. The root system of older 

 trees is distinctly lateral, many of the roots being superficial, or 

 frequently exposed. 



