of New York 



69 



POST OAK 



Quercus stellata, Wangenheim 



THE POST OAK was given its name in pioneer days when 

 it was used extensively for posts, a use for which it is 

 well adapted on account of durability. 



The Post Oak is not an evergreen tree, but some of its 

 brown leaves usually hang on until the new crop appears. 



The leaves are simple, 

 alternate, coarse, stiff, 

 leathery in texture, 4 to 

 6 inches long. They are 

 dark green and shiny on 

 the upper surface, have 

 a heavy coating of rusty 

 brown hairs on lower 

 surface. Under a mag- 

 nifying glass the hairs 

 are star-shaped whence 

 the specific name "stel- 

 lata." The two basal 

 lobes are small and the 

 three terminal lobes are 

 large and generally 

 s q u a r ish in outline. 

 Near the middle of the 

 leaf is a deep cut that al- 

 most separates the leaf 

 into two parts. 



The flowers are like those of the other oaks. 

 Oak. 



The fruit is a small acorn maturing in one season. The 

 nut is about Yi of an inch long, dark brown, often striped. 

 The cup is shallow, covered with pale wooly scales, enclos- 

 ing about Yz of nut. 



The bark is darker, rougher and less scaly than White 

 Oak. The twigs are stout, hairy and rusty. The buds are 

 alternate, Ys of an inch long, blunt-pointed, reddish-brown, 

 clustered at end of twigs. 



The wood is similar to White Oak and used for the same 

 purposes. 



The Post Oak, also called Iron Oak, is found from Massa- 

 chusetts to Kansas and south to Florida and Texas. It is 

 found on Long Island and Staten Island northward to West- 

 chester county. It is a medium-sized tree, rarely exceeding 

 60 feet in height and 3 feet in diameter. 



POST OAK 



One-third natural size. 



See White 



