160 



TREES OP THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES 



1. Castanea satlva, Mill. (CHEST- 

 NUT.) Leaves oblong-lanceolate, pointed, 

 coarsely serrate, with usually awned teeth ; 

 smooth on both sides, 6 to 9 in. long, lj to 

 2}^ in. wide. Burs large, very prickly, in- 

 closing 1 to 3 large, ovoid, brown nuts, ripe 

 after frost, which opens the bur into 4 

 valves. A common large tree, with light, 

 coarse-grained wood, and bark having 

 ^jjjjjy!^ coarse longitudinal ridges on the old trees. 



Many varieties of this species are in cul- 

 tivation, varying in the size and sweet- 

 o. sativa. ness of the nuts, the size of the trees, and 



the size and the margins of the leaves, some of which are almost 



entire. The wild species is var. Americana. 



2. Castanea pumila, Mill. (CHINQUAPIN.) 

 Leaves lance-oblong, strongly straight- 

 veined, coarsely serrate, usually with 

 awned tips ; whitish-downy beneath, 3 to 5 

 in. long, li^ to 2 in. wide. Bur small, prickly, 

 with a single small, rounded, sweet, chest- 

 nut-colored nut. A handsome small tree, 

 or in the wild state usually a shrub, 6 to 

 40 ft. high. Central New Jersey, southern 



0. ptimila. 



Ohio and southward, and cultivated successfully as far north as 

 New York City. 



GENUS 90. 



Trees with alternate, strongly straight-veined, almost 

 entire to deeply pinnatifid leaves. Flowers inconspicuous. 

 appearing with the leaves. Fruit a prickly bur, inclosing 

 2 triangular, sharp-ridged nuts, the bur hanging on the 

 trees during the greater part of the winter. Leaf -buds 

 very elongated, slender, sharp-pointed. 



* The straight veins all ending in the teeth ; native 1. 



* Margin varying from entire to deeply pinnatifid, the straight 



veins occasionally ending in the notches 2. 



