44 



NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 



[7 :2 — Feb., 191 r 



(2) The Red Oaks (also known as the Black Oaks), whose 

 leaves have pointed lobes tipped with bristles. The members of 

 this group are biennial-fruiting, the acorns (produced each year) 

 requiring two years to mature. Examples are the Red Oak, 

 Scarlet Oak, Black Oak, Pin Oak, Spanish Oak and others. 



The Scarlet Oak is easily recognized in winter by its habit 

 of holding its sered, brown leaves from October until late April. 

 In the open, apart from other trees, it adopts a spreading form, 

 but in close timber it sends its trunk up to the light above and the 

 lateral branches are short, making a more slender tree. There is 

 considerable resemblance to the red oak, but the bark is more 

 fissured and scaly and there are more small, scraggly branches 

 arising from the trunk. Acorns are oval, the cup including nearly 

 half of the nut, which is often striped with narrow black lines. 

 During the third week of October the leaves reach their climax 

 of scarlet color. The name of black oak is often applied to this 

 tree. 



The Red Oak is distinguished by its broader and less in- 

 dented leaf, which in the autumn shows yellow quite as much as 



I. WHITE OAK 2. BUR OAK 3. RED OAK 4. SCARLET OAK A-B, DIFFERENT 



FORMS OF LEAVES FROM SAME TREE; THE HIGHER BRANCHES USUALLY 

 PRODUCE THE MORE DEEPLY LOBED LEAVES 



red. The general character of the tree suggests the hard maple, 

 for which it is sometimes mistaken by beginners in tree study. 

 The trunk is smoother than that of the scarlet oak and freer from 

 small irregular branches, giving it a more trim and open frame- 

 work. These characteristics, together with the fact that the 

 leaves are shed in the fall, make winter identification possible. 

 The acorns are also a means of recognition ; the nut is very large 



