6i8 
Willow  Oak. 
/  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\   December.  1897. 
willow  oak  with  Q.  rubra.  Gray  gives  the  combination  as  Q. 
Phellos  with  Q.  rubra  or  coccinea. 
Some  pertinent  remarks  on  "  Hybrids  in  Nature,"  by  Thomas 
Meehan,  have  recently  appeared  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia  (1897,  p.  194),  in  which,  using 
the  oaks  as  an  illustration,  he  shows  that  hybridization  will  not 
account  for  the  variations  in  this  genus. 
The  willow  oak  is  found  along  the  coast  of  the  Eastern  United  States, 
from  Long  Island,  New  York,  southward  to  Florida,  and  thence 
westward  to  Missouri  and  Texas.  It  prefers  low,  moist  ground,  and 
is  quite  common  in  the  lowlands  on  both  sides  of  the  Delaware 
River,  south  of  Philadelphia.  It  has  also  become  more  common  of 
late  years  by  cultivation  as  an  ornamental  tree. 
In  this  latitude  it  is  a  rather  small  tree,  rarely  exceeding  a  height 
of  40  to  50  feet,  but  further  south  it  attains  a  maximum  of  80  feet, 
and  a  diameter  of  3  feet. 
The  accompanying  illustration  shows  the  peculiar  character  of  the 
foliage,  which  is  rather  densely  crowded  at  the  ends  of  the  branches. 
Nearly  all  the  illustrations  of  the  acorns  which  are  figured  in  books 
on  the  subject  are  far  from  being  true  representations.  Sargent's 
"North  American  Silva  "  is,  however,  a  notable  exception  in  this 
respect.  In  the  present  instance  the  illustration,  being  a  photo- 
graphic reproduction,  differs  from  the  natural  object  only  by  a  slight 
reduction  in  size. 
As  stated  at  the  beginning  of  this  paper,  the  willow  oak  has  not 
attained  any  great  economic  value,  and  most  writers  give  it  a  poor 
name.  No  less  an  authority,  however,  than  Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  of 
Mobile,  Ala.,  says  the  wood  is  hard,  very  elastic,  compact,  and  suit- 
able for  railway  carriages  and  many  other  purposes. 
It  is  hoped  that,  ere  long,  something  will  be  forthcoming  from  the 
Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  College,  on  the  composition  of  the 
bark,  which  has  been  under  investigation  for  some  time.  So  far  as 
the  tannin  is  concerned,  the  bark  does  not  appear  to  be  sufficiently 
rich  to  warrant  its  use  in  the  manufacture  of  leather. 
For  the  photograph  from  which  the  illustration  was  made  I  am 
indebted  to  my  friend,  Dr.  Charles  SchafTer. 
