Part 12

The willow oak, Quercus phellos L., is a river bottom tree rarely found in southern Illinois. It is readily identified by its leaves, which as the name implies, resemble those of the willows. These leaves are from two to four inches long and one-half to one inch wide, light green, shiny above and smooth beneath.

+AMERICAN ELM+ Ulmus americana L.

THIS is a famous shade tree of New England, whose range, however, extends to the Rocky Mountains and southward to Texas. Within this vast area, it is generally common except in the high mountains. It reaches an average height of 60 to 70 feet and a diameter of 4 to 5 feet. The bark is dark gray, divided into irregular, flat-topped thick ridges, and is generally firm, though on old trees it tends to come off in flakes. An incision into the inner bark will show alternate layers of brown and white.

Twig, one-half natural size. Leaf, one-half natural size.]

The leaves are alternate, simple, 4 to 6 inches long, rather thick, somewhat one-sided, doubly toothed on the margin, and generally smooth above and downy below. The leaf-veins are very pronounced and run in parallel lines from the mid-rib to leaf edge. The winter buds are pointed, brown, ovoid and smooth.

The flowers are small, perfect, greenish, on slender stalks sometimes an inch long, appearing before the leaves in the early spring. The fruit is a light green, oval shaped samara (winged fruit) with the seed portion in the center and surrounded entirely by a wing. This wing has a conspicuous notch at the end and is hairy on the margin, a mark distinctive of the species. The seed ripens in the spring and by its wing is widely disseminated by the wind.

The wood is heavy, hard, strong, tough and difficult to split. It is used for hubs of wheels, saddle trees, boats, ships, barrel hoops, and veneer for baskets and crates.

Because of its spreading fan-shaped form, graceful pendulous branches, and long life, the white elm justly holds its place as one of the most desirable shade trees.

The rock or cork elm, Ulmus thomasi Sarg., is found occasionally in northern Illinois. Its excurrent branches are very different from those of other elms. Its twigs often have corky ridges and the winter buds are somewhat hairy.

The winged elm, Ulmus alata Michx., a small tree, is found in the southern part of the State. The twigs have two thin corky wings.

+RED OR SLIPPERY ELM+ Ulmus rubra Muhl.

(Ulmus fulva Michx.)

THE red elm, or slippery elm, is a common tree in all sections of the State. It is found principally on the banks of streams and on low hillsides in rich soil. It is a tree of small to moderate size, but noticeably wide-spreading. It is usually less than 50 feet in height and 16 inches in diameter although trees of larger dimensions are occasionally found.

Twig, one-half natural size. Leaf, one-half natural size.]

The bark on the trunk is frequently one inch thick, dark grayish-brown, and broken by shallow fissures into flat ridges. The inner bark is used to some extent for medical purposes, as it is fragrant and when chewed, affords a slippery, mucilaginous substance, whence the tree gets its name. The winter buds are large and conspicuously rusty-hairy.

The leaves are simple, alternate on the stem, 4 to 6 inches in length, sharp pointed, their bases unsymmetrical, doubly-toothed on the edges, thick, dark green, and rough on both sides.

The fruit consists of a seed surrounded by a thin, broad, greenish wing, about one-half an inch in diameter; the flowers appear in early spring and the fruit ripens when the leaves are about half-grown.

The wood is close-grained, tough, strong, heavy, hard, moderately durable in contact with the soil. It is used for fence posts, crossties, agricultural implements, ribs for small boats and for some other purposes.

The water elm, Planera aquatica Gmel., is a small tree with slender branches forming a low broad head and is found in swamps in the valley of the Wabash River in this State. It reaches its best development in Arkansas and Louisiana. It has dull green leaves 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. The fruit is an oblong, dark brown drupe.

+HACKBERRY+ Celtis occidentalis L.

THE rough-leaved hackberry is found sparsely throughout the State. It occurs most abundantly and of greatest size in the rich alluvial lands in the lower part of the State, but thrives, however, on various types of soil, from the poorest to the richest. It is usually a medium-sized tree from 30 to 50 feet high and 10 to 20 inches in diameter, but trees 3 feet in diameter are found in the Wabash bottoms in southern Illinois. Its limbs are often crooked and angular and bear a head made of slender, pendant branches or short, bristly, stubby twigs. In the open the crown is generally very symmetrical. It makes an excellent shade tree.

Leaf, one-third natural size. Twig, one-half natural size.]

The bark is grayish and generally rough with scale-like or warty projections of dead bark. In some instances the bark is smooth enough on the limbs to resemble that of the beech.

The leaves are simple, ovate, alternate, one-sided, 2 to 4 inches long, the edges toothed towards the long point.

The flowers are inconspicuous, and the two kinds are borne on the same tree. They appear in April or May, and are of a creamy, greenish color. The fruit is a round, somewhat oblong drupe, or berry, from 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch in diameter. It has a thin, purplish skin, and sweet, yellowish flesh. From this characteristic it is sometimes called sugarberry. The berries frequently hang on the tree most of the winter.

The wood is heavy, rather soft, weak, and decays readily when exposed. It is used chiefly for fuel, but occasionally for lumber and railroad ties which are given preservative treatment.

The southern hackberry, Celtis leavigata Willd., having narrow leaves, is found occasionally along the streams in southern Illinois. The fruit hangs from the axils of the leaves on slender stems. It is orange-red in color, changing to purple-black as it matures.

+OSAGE ORANGE+ Maclura pomifera Schneid.