Part 48

Habitat: Rocky, wooded slopes.

Range: Quebec across Michigan to Iowa, south to eastern Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The Wafer Ash is distinguished by its 3-parted alternate leaves and its flat, spherical, winged seeds.

WHITE OAK Quercus alba L.

Growth Form: Large tree up to 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 3 feet; crown very broad, with stiff, horizontal branches; trunk relatively short and rather thick.

Bark: Gray or whitish with gray patches, shallowly furrowed.

Twigs: Slender, smooth, somewhat shiny, gray, whitish, or even purplish; pith star-shaped in cross-section; leaf scars alternate but crowded near the tip of the twig, half-round, slightly elevated, with several bundle traces.

Buds: Nearly round, reddish-brown or gray, up to ⅛ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades usually with 7 or 9 lobes, the lobes rounded and not bristle-tipped, the sinuses varying from shallow to deep, the upper surface green and smooth, the lower surface paler and smooth, up to 10 inches long, up to half as wide, turning red in the autumn; leafstalks up to 1 inch long, rather stout, smooth. Leaves on the same tree may vary considerably.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately, but on the same tree, appearing when the leaves begin to unfold, minute, without petals, the staminate many in drooping, yellow catkins, the pistillate few in a group, red.

Fruit: Acorns borne 1 or 2 together, with or without a stalk, the nut oblong, up to ¾ inch long, green to greenish-brown, shiny, the cup covering up to ¼ of the nut, yellow-brown, often minutely hairy.

Wood: Heavy, hard, strong, durable, coarse-grained, pale brown.

Uses: Interior finishing, cabinets, general construction, fence posts, fuel, tight cooperage.

Habitat: Moist woods; wooded slopes; dry woods.

Range: Maine across to Minnesota, south to eastern Texas, east to northern Florida.

Distinguishing Features: White Oak is recognized by its grayish bark and its 5-7 round-lobed, smooth leaves which are usually whitish on the lower surface. Its oblong, greenish-brown, shiny acorns are also distinctive.

SWAMP WHITE OAK Quercus bicolor Willd.

Growth Form: Medium tree to 70 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 3 feet; crown rounded and broad.

Bark: Grayish-brown, deeply furrowed, becoming flaky.

Twigs: Stout, grayish-brown to yellowish-brown; leaf scars alternate, half-round, slightly elevated, with several bundle traces; pith star-shaped in cross-section.

Buds: Clustered at the tips of the twigs, ellipsoid to spherical, up to ⅛ inch long, yellow-brown, smooth or with a few hairs at the tip.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades usually broadest above the middle, up to 6 inches long and 4 inches broad, coarsely round-toothed or sometimes with a few shallow lobes, smooth or somewhat hairy on the upper surface, white and softly hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks nearly an inch long, smooth or slightly hairy.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately, but on the same tree, appearing when the leaves begin to unfold, minute, without petals, the staminate in slender, drooping catkins, the pistillate in groups of 2-4.

Fruit: Acorns in pairs, on stalks 1 inch long or longer, the nut ovoid, pale brown, 1-1½ inches long, enclosed about ⅓ its length by the cup, the cup thick, light brown, hairy, roughened.

Wood: Hard, heavy, strong, pale brown.

Uses: Interior finishing, cabinets, fuel, fence posts.

Habitat: Bottomland woods.

Range: Maine and southern Quebec across to southern Minnesota, south to Oklahoma, east to Georgia.