WILLOW OAK 
WILLOW OAK 
Qucércus phillos, 
A tree seventy to eighty feet high, ranging from southern New 
York along the inland plain to Florida, is also found in the south- 
western states. Hybridizes easily. 
Bark.—Pale reddish brown, stem of young tree smooth, that of 
old trees covered with shallow fissures and scaly. Branchlets 
slender, smooth, reddish brown, later dark brown or grayish brown. 
Wood.—Pale reddish brown, sapwood paler; heavy, strong, 
coarse-grained. Occasionally used in construction. Sp. gr., 0.7472 ; 
weight of cu. ft., 46.56 lbs. 
Winter Buds.—Brown, ovate, acute, one-eighth of an inch long. 
Leaves.—Alternate, linear, oblong, narrowed at both ends, some- 
times falcate, two to five inches long, one-half to one inch wide, 
wedge-shaped at base, entire or slightly undulate at margin, sharply 
acute at apex. They come out of the bud involute, pale yellow 
green, shining above, coated with pale down beneath; when full 
srown are light green, smooth and shining above, paler green below ; 
midribs yellow, rounded above, primary veins obscure. In autumn 
they turn pale yellow and fall late. Petioles stout, and grooved. 
Stipures caducous. 
Flowers.—May, when leaves are small. Staminate flowers borne 
in hairy slender aments two to three inches long. 
Calyx yellow, hairy, divided into four to five acute 
lobes. Stamens four to five ; anthers oblong, yel- 
low. Pistillate flowers are borne on short, smooth 
peduncles. Involucral scales are brown, hairy, as 
long as the calyx lobes; stigmas bright red, re- 
flexed. 
Willow Oak, Quercus Acorns.—Not abundant. Ripen in autumn of 
phellos. Acorns second year, short stalked, solitary or in pairs. 
¥4/ in diameter. Nut half-sphere, half an inch in diameter, pale 
yellow brown, downy, sometimes striate; cup 
saucer-shaped, covers the base of nut only; scales dark reddish 
orown, thin, ovate, hairy. Kernel orange yellow and very bitter. 
The Willow Oak is a most interesting tree. In the first 
place its leaf is an anomaly among northern oaks for it has 
the shape, poise, and general appearance of that of the wil- 
low. Then, too, the shoots are straight and slender, so in its 
spray it resembles the willow. Like its namesake it loves to 
keep its feet in water, seeks the low wet borders of swamps 
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