Handbook or Teees of the Noethehn States and Canada. 137 



The Chinquapin is a small tree and is often 

 found fruiting in abundance as a shrub. 

 Under favorable conditions it attains the 

 height of 40 or 50 ft. and a trunk diameter of 

 2 or 3 ft., but these dimensions are rare. 

 When isolated it develops a low broad rounded 

 top, similar to that of the Chestnut, but much 

 smaller. It inhabits dry hillsides and uplands 

 as well as rich bottom-lands and, like the 

 Chestnut, is of greatest beauty when in early 

 summer, after the close of the flowering season 

 of nearly all other trees, it puts out its numer- 

 ous fragrant yellow catkins. In September its 

 well-guarded fruit, which it produces in abun- 

 dance, is ripe and liberated, and this, though 

 a small nut, is delicious in flavor and is oc- 

 casionally gathered for market. 



The wood is similar to that of the Chestnut 

 with very thin sap-wood, a cubic foot, when 

 absolutely dry, weighing 36.69 lbs., and is used 

 for fence posts, railway ties, ete.i 



Leaves narrow-oblong, S-.'J in. long, mostly acute 

 at apex, narrowed and wedge-shaped or rounded at 

 base, coarsely serrate with slender pointed teeth, 

 tomentose at first, at maturity glabrous dark green 

 above, whitish tomentose beneath : petioles short 

 stout and branchlets the first season pubescent. 

 FJoiccrs (.Tune-.Tuly) : staminate aments 2-6 in. 

 long, hoary-tomentose ; pistillate flowers at the 

 bases of the upper androgynous aments, sessile or 

 nearly so. Fruit: involucres I-IV2 in. in diameter, 

 commonly in spike-like clusters, densely crowded 

 with slender sharp spines outside, opening gen- 

 erally by 2 or 3 valves and containing a single 

 round-ovoid lustrous dark brown nut pointed and 

 white-pubescent at apex, ^2-% In. long and con- 

 taining a larffe sweet seed naked at apex with 

 scars of abortive ovules. 



1. A. W., XI, 272. 



