Fifty Common Trees of New York 37 



THE OAKS 2 



Of the 300 oaks known in the world, fifty-five are native to North 

 America, and most of these occur in the eastern United States. The 

 oaks make up the largest group of forest trees native to New York. In 

 all there are sixteen different kinds of oaks native to this State. They 

 grow under a wide range of conditions and show wide variations in form 

 and other distinguishing characteristics. The oaks of New York do not 

 thrive in the high forests of the mountains ; therefore, representatives of 

 the family are found in the Adirondack section, in the sheltered valleys 

 of the foothills. South and westward in the drainages of the Susque- 

 hanna, Genesee, and Alleghany Rivers, they become very plentiful in 

 variety and number. 



The best way to get acquainted with New York oaks is to divide them 

 into two major groups, the one group to comprise the white oaks and the 

 other the black oaks. It is easy to place the oaks of New York in these 

 two groups by remembering the following characteristics of each : 



The white oaks — The leaves of the members of the white-oak group 

 have rounded lobes (not bristle-tipped), and the kernels of the acorns 

 are usually sweet. All the oaks of this group mature their acorns in a 

 single season, for this reason they are sometimes called "annual oaks." 

 The most important members of the group in New York are white oak, 

 swamp white oak, bur oak, post oak, and chestnut oak. 



The black oaks — The leaves of the members of the black-oak group 

 have bristle-tipped (not round-lobed) leaves, and the kernels of their 

 acorns are usually bitter. All the oaks of this group require two sea- 

 sons to mature their acorns; for this reason the representatives of this 

 group are sometimes called "biennial oaks," which means two-year 

 oaks in contrast with the one-year white oaks. The immature acorns 

 are very helpful in recognizing the members of the black-oak group, es- 

 pecially during the winter months when the trees are without leaves. 

 The most important members of this group in New York State are black 

 oak, red oak, scarlet oak, and pin oak. 



^Largely adapted from Common Trees of Nevi York, by J. S. Illick. 1927. 



