("5) 



always bristle-tipped. From the blunt base to the acute, 

 bristle-tipped apex the blade is usually from 5 to 8 inches 

 long. On the under side of the blade they are paler than on 

 the upper, and often furnished with tufts of rusty-colored 

 hairs at the juncture of the more prominent veins. The 

 flowers appear when the leaves are half unfolded, followed 

 in the autumn of the second season by the acorns. These 

 are practically stalkless, solitary or two in a cluster. The 

 acorn is ovoid, from ^2 to ^4 of an inch in length, and en- 

 closed for Yz or y 2 of its lower part by the cup. 



The scarlet oak grows best in dry sandy situations from 

 northern New York to Georgia and westward to Iowa. In 

 the Hudson Valley it is a fairly common tree. Its wood, 

 which resembles that of the red oak, is used for much the 

 same purposes, but is not so valuable. 



Black-jack Oak Quercus marilandica 



From all the bristle-tipped oaks that have lobed leaves the 

 black-jack oak can be easily distinguished by its peculiar leaf- 

 blades. They are much broader above the middle than 

 below it. In the Hudson Valley it is found only on Staten 

 Island and adjacent Long Island and New Jersey. Further 

 south it reaches a height of 40 feet. 



The leaf-blades which are narrowed at the base, and con- 

 spicuously widened upward, are from 3 to 6 inches long. 

 There are mostly three blunt, but bristle-tipped lobes, at the 

 apex of the blade, which on the under side is usually covered 

 with short brownish hairs. In April or May the flowers 

 appear followed in the autumn of the second year by the 

 acorns. These are hemispherical and from y^ to ^4 inch 

 long, and enclosed for their lower half by the thin cup. 



The wood of the black-jack oak is little used except for 

 fuel and in the manufacture of charcoal. The tree has much 

 value for decorative planting, but is of very slow growth. 



