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 Quer- 
cus alba it frequently occurs with a white bark. The three 
chestnut oaks, Quercus prinus, 
Quercus acuminata, and Quercus 
prinoides yun 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 Vellow 
Oak are small compared with 
those of the others. All are toa 
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, Quereus acuminata. 
Acorn 1%’ to 1 long. 
DWARF CHINQUAPIN OAK. SCRUB CHESTNUT OAK 
Qudreus 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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