Complimentary 
NEW SERIES VOL. IV 
NO. 15 
ARNOLD ARBORETUM 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
BULLETIN 
OF 
POPULAR INFORMATION 
JAMAICA PLAIN, MASS. OCTOBER 30. 1918 
Some late October colors in the Arboretum. Now that the leaves 
of the Sweet Gum (Nyssa) and the Liquidambar have fallen the most 
brilliantly colored tree here is the Scarlet Oak {Quercus coccinea) which 
has no rival among the northern Oaks in the bright scarlet of its shin- 
ing deeply divided leaves. We are here near the northern limits of 
the range of this tree and it is not very common in the neighborhood 
of Boston. In Plymouth County and in some parts of Cape Cod it is a 
prevailing tree, and to those who love the woods in autumn that part 
of the state is well worth a visit this week or next. The leaves of 
only one other Oak turn in the autumn to more brilliant shades of 
scarlet and that is the Turkey Oak (Q. Catesbaei) of the southern 
states, a smaller tree than the Scarlet Oak but with larger and often 
more lustrous leaves. Persons who like most northerners know the 
coast region of South Carolina and Georgia and the Florida peninsula 
only in late winter or in spring have little idea of the splendor of the 
color which the Turkey Oak gives that part of the country at the end 
of November. The leaves of some trees of the Pin Oak (Q. palustris) 
are turning scarlet or scarlet and yellow, and those of other trees are 
still nearly green, scarlet or nearly green leaves often occurring on 
the same branch. The Pin Oak is a handsome tree at this time of the 
year although it is less brilliant and conspicuous than the Scarlet Oak. 
This is true, too, of the Red Oak, the autumn leaves of which vary 
on different individuals from yellow to dark red, bright red, red and 
yellow, and brown. On the trees of the White Oak Group the hand- 
somest autumn foliage is found on the White Oak itself (Q. alba). The 
leaves of this tree turn later than those of most Oaks and when in 
57 
