TREES AND SHRUBS. 



293 



with sub-evergreen, foliage. It makes a large tree, 

 iind is a rapid grower. It was raised by Lucombe, 

 a nurseryman at Exeter, about 1762. 



Deciduocs Species ekom Canada and the 

 EASTEKJi United States. 



Q. alba, tbe Wbite Oak, has lyrate or sinuate- 

 pinnatifid leaves, bright green above (smooth when 

 mature) and glaucous beneath. It makes a large 

 tree, and is a rapid grower, perfectly hardy in 

 Britain. In its native habitats the timber is largely 

 used for ship-building, and in constructions of all 

 kinds. The acoros, about an inch long, have edible 

 kernels, and are seated in short, rough, saucer-shaped 

 cups ; they are perfected in the autumn of the first 

 year. 



Q. bicolor, the Swamp White Oak, has leaves 

 coarsely sinuate-toothed, but only slightly lobed, 

 the under surfaces being white -hoary, with soft 

 down. This species has a wide range ; it occurs 

 from Canada to Georgia, and is generally found in 

 deep aUuvial soils along streams, &c., in bottom 

 lands. Sometimes, though rarely, it exceeds thirty 

 feet in circumference ; the timber is said to be equal 

 to that of the common White Oak. 



Q. coccinea, the Scarlet Oak, unlike the two 

 previous species, is a biennial-fruited one ; that is 

 to say, the acorns are perfected in the autumn of the 

 second year, and are therefore on old wood below 

 the leaves of the season. The large, deeply pinnatifid 

 leaves are bright gTeen,and shining above, the lobes 

 being divergent and sparingly ,cut-toothe4. The 

 Scarlet Oak is a rapid grower, succeeding well in 

 either dry or moist soils ; the wood is reddish, and 

 coarse-grained, and probably of little value in com- 

 parison with that of many other species. The rapid 

 symmetrical growth, and the large leaves, which 

 change to a bright scarlet in autumn, render this 

 Oak one of the most effective for the park or pleasure 

 gi'ound. 



Q. macrocarpa, the Bur Oak, Over-cup, or Mossy- 

 cup Oak, is a handsome tree, nearly allied to Q. alba. 

 It sometimes attains a height of sixty or eighty feet. 

 The last two of the three English names above-quoted 

 have originated on account of the acorn being half- 

 covered, or entirely enclosed within the cup, the 

 upper scales of which are awned so as to make a 

 mossy-fringed border. 



Q. nigra, the Black-jack or Barren Oak, grows 

 well in graveUy barren soil. It has large leaves, 

 broadly wedge-shaped at the base, and widely dilated, 

 somewhat threo-lobed above. It rarely exceeds 

 twenty-five feet in height, but being very distinct in 

 aspect, is a desirable ornamental plant. Some of the 

 forms are dwarf, not more than six feet in height. 

 The leaves turn a coffee -colour before falling. 



Like the Scarlet Oak, this is one of the biennial- 

 fruited set. 



Q. Fhellos, the Willow Oak, is remarkable for its 

 linear-lanceolate, glabrous, light green, Willow-like 

 leaves. It is a pretty, fast-growing tree. The 

 acorns have never been produced at Kew, although 

 there are old and very line specimens ; they are 

 biennial. 



Q. rubra, the Red Oak, is a, near ally of the 

 Scarlet Oak, and like it, makes a large tree, with the 

 foliage brightly coloured in autumn. 



Beciduous Species from Europe and Asia. 



Q. castatiecefolia, u, native of the Caucasus, is a 

 handsome strong-growing species, with rather large 

 leaves, much resembling in outline and nervation 

 those of the Spanish Chestnut. 



Q. C^rris, the Turkey Oak, is a much more rapid 

 and symmetrical grower than the common Oak ; it 

 is found throughout South Europe, and a large 

 number of slightly varying forms have received dis- 

 tinctive names. The common form has deeply and 

 unequally pinnatifid, dark green leaves. There is a 

 fine variety with silver variegated foliage, and 

 others with sub-evergreen leaves ; in all, the bracts 

 which form the acorn-cup are long, narrow, and 

 spreading, thus earning for the section their dis- 

 tinctive name — Mossy-cup. 



Q. conferta, or Q. Pannonica, as it is not unfro- 

 quently called, is one of the noblest of the European 

 Oaks ; it is of fine, symmetrical, pyramidal habit, 

 and has large, deeply pinnatifid sinuate leaves. A 

 native of Transylvania, &c. 



Q. dentata, a native of China and Japan, is a 

 fine species, with very large leaves, having sinuated 

 margins. It is sometimes found in nurseries under 

 the name of Q. Daimyo. Additional interest attaches 

 to this from its being one of the food-plants of the 

 Chinese silkworm. 



Q. Mirbeckii, a South-west European Oak, .also 

 found in Northern Africa, is a handsome plant, 

 retaining its bold dark green leaves long after those 

 of most of the other deciduous species have fallen. 



Q. pedimculata. — This, and the next, constitute 

 what is collectively known as Q. Eobur, which, 

 however, splits up into two distinct sections — the 

 one just mentioned, with stalkless leaves and stalked 

 acorns; and Q. sessiUflora, with stalked leaves and 

 stalkless acorns. A host of forms of each occur in 

 nurseries, &c., and a few of the more remarkable 

 are given here. Concordia is a variety with bright 

 golden-yellow foliage, and is a fairly rapid grower; 

 under favourable conditions it is sne of the best of 

 all golden-leaved trees. FasHi/iata, the Cypress, or 

 Pyramidal Oak, has the habit of the Cypress, or 

 Lombardy Poplar, but otherwise does not differ 



