GOLDEN LEAF CANYON LIVE OAK. 75 



short, often branched, their calyxes (flower cups) with round- 

 ish teeth, sparsely hairy, the margins eye-lashed, stamens 

 short, live to ten anthers on top of these threads, large, 

 strongly cusp-pointed, cells slightly hairy. The female acorn- 

 producing flowers, six-toothed, closely investing the embryo 

 acorn, hairy and pimple-roughened on the back, scarcely a 

 little scolloped on the margin; styles short, two to seven, 

 erect; top-stigmas, broad, disc-form, emargined, or slightly 

 notched on one side, color dark brownish purple. Acorns, 

 solitary or in pairs, on short stems, one fourth to one half an 

 inch long; mature acorns rarely set close down on the wood 

 of the previous year's growth, and is what is termed a bien- 

 nial oak, i. c, they mature their fruit the following season 

 after flowering: yet both old and young acorns are seen on 

 the trees at the same time. The cup is scarcely hemispherical, 

 about one third the height of the acorn, one half to three 

 fourths of an inch across, and about one half as deep; the 

 outer, lower, well defined scales, egg-form, acute, with brown- 

 ish, thin, almost horny tips, more or less swelled below, but 

 sometimes so overlaid with yellowish starry down as to hide 

 their exact form ; margin of the cup. often thin and minutely 

 toothed, satiny-villous within, of the six ovules in oaks only 

 one matures; the five tiny, bottle-shaped, abortive ones of 

 this species, are discovered on the side midway between the 

 point and base, inside the shell, but outside the skin of the 

 meat.* 



These trees are seldom or never in groves, but scattered 

 here and there, often widely separated, and for this reason 

 rare, and if not timely known, are likely to become very 

 scarce. In a general way we have already alluded to the 

 quality of timber. The color of the heart and sap are alike 

 white; texture exceedingly compact and tough, without any 

 porosity of the White Oak, and far better for w T ine and other 

 tight casks, etc., perhaps too heavy for many purposes, but 

 very strong and lasting, hardens with age and due seasoning; 

 if soaked, steamed, or treated as good timber should be, and 

 then carefully kept a long while, to season slowly in the 

 shade, or after being duly buried in tide or swamp mud, no 

 timber can excel this for naval architecture, or mechanical 

 purposes, especially where great strength and durability are 

 required; it is claimed to be as elastic as the White Oak 

 (Q. alba), but we have trees that excel it in this partic- 

 ular; does not warp and season-crack so badly as some oaks. 

 It is almost needless to add, that where weight and crooked 

 knees form no objection, it will be, ere long, very highly 



*The fertile twigs of this and some other evergreen oaks often spend all their 

 vital force of certain seasons in perfecting the acorns already set, and do not grow 

 beyond it; thus the fruit may have the appearance of maturing the first year, 

 although in fact biennial. 



