62 Bulletin of the University of Texas 
gated catkins, or rounded heads, pistillate flowers, solitary or 
clustered. Fruit a one-seeded nut, borne in a prickly bur or 
seated in a woody, scaly cup. This is the most important 
economic group of trees occurring in the state. 
Staminate flowers borne in rounded heads; nut tri- 
angular, borne inside a woody husk armed 
WILD TECUrved PriChtes ie 35. wisls sete ee seater SER 1. Fagus. 
Staminate flowers in elongated slender catkins. 
Nut borne inside a closed woody husk, but 
armed with straight prickles............. 2. Castanea. 
Nut seated in a-scaly, woody cup............. 3. Quercus. 
1. FAGUS (Tournefort) L. Beech. 
Fagus Americana Sweet. The Beech. A tree usually 
about 70° to 80° in height, but sometimes larger. The lower 
branches are drooping, the middle almost horizontal, while 
the upper are ascending, forming a rather narrow crown. 
Bark hght gray, thin, and smooth. Winter buds about one 
inch Jong, taper pointed, with light brown scales. Leaves 
ovate to oblong-ovate, usually rather long taper-pointed with 
a wedge-shaped or sometimes heart-shaped base. The margin 
of the leaf is regularly minutely serrate, the veins ending in 
the apex of the teeth, smooth above, minutely hairy or smooth 
below. Nuts %%’-14’ long, triangular, reddish brown, quite 
hairy. 
Nova Scotia to Ontario and Wisconsin, extending south to 
the Gulf States and west to Texas. In Texas it extends to 
the Trinity River. 
The wood is hard, strong, tough, close grained, takes a high 
polish. It is used for building material, fuel, staves, and 
heading. The nut is sweet and edible. The tree is not well 
adapted for ornamental purposes, because the roots grow 
near the surface, and grass does not thrive under it. 
2. CASTANEA (Tournefort) Adanson. The Chestnut. 
Castanea pumila Miller. Chinquapin. A shrub or medium 
sized round topped tree 50’ high with spreading slender 
branches, furrowed scaly bark. Leaves obovate, thick, firm, 
rounded or pointed at the apex, wedge shaped or sometimes 
unequal at the base, sharply toothed, 3’-4’ long, 114’-2’ wide, 
