Part 52

Growth Form: Relatively small tree, at most attaining a height of 50 feet, usually much shorter and often very gnarled; trunk diameter up to 1½ feet; crown exceedingly round-topped, with numerous lower branches hanging downward.

Bark: Dark brown, shallowly ridged.

Twigs: Moderately stout, brown, more or less hairy; pith star-shaped in cross-section; leaf scars alternate but clustered near the top, half-round, slightly elevated, with several bundle traces.

Buds: Angular, from ¼-½ inch long, somewhat hairy.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades about 4-8 inches long, leathery, very much broader near the apex than the base, mostly rounded or even somewhat heart shaped at the base, more or less 3-lobed and bristle-tipped nearer the apex, the upper surface hairy at first, becoming shiny dark green at maturity, the lower surface permanently hairy; leafstalks less than 1 inch long.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate on the same tree, appearing as the leaves unfold, inconspicuous, the staminate crowded in a catkin, the pistillate solitary or 2-3 together.

Fruit: Ripening in October of the second year, on very short stalks, or the stalks sometimes lacking; acorns nearly round, usually at most only ½ inch in diameter, the cup enclosing ½ the acorn, with rather loosely arranged scales.

Wood: Hard, strong, heavy, dark brown.

Uses: Excellent as a source of charcoal and fuel.

Habitat: Poor soil, particularly on dry, exposed rocky cliffs.

Range: New York across to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and southern Iowa to southeastern Nebraska, south into eastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, and eastern Texas, then east to northern Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The 3-lobed leaf, much broader at the apex, is the most distinctive characteristic of this oak.

SWAMP CHESTNUT OAK Quercus michauxii Nutt.

Other Names: Basket Oak; Cow Oak.

Growth Form: Medium to large tree up to nearly 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 6 feet; crown rounded.

Bark: Gray or silvery-white, scaly.

Twigs: Stout, reddish-brown to gray, smooth or nearly so; leaf scars alternate but crowded near the tip, half-round, slightly elevated, with several bundle traces; pith star-shaped in cross-section.

Buds: Pointed, finely hairy, reddish-brown, up to ¼ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades obovate, pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering to the base, up to 10 inches long and 6 inches broad, coarsely scalloped along the edges, thick, green and sparsely hairy on the upper surface, whitish and densely hairy on the lower surface; leafstalk up to 1½ inches long, hairy.

Flowers: Borne separately but on the same tree, minute, without petals, the staminate crowded into long, slender catkins, the pistillate few in a cluster.

Fruit: Acorns solitary or paired, with or without short stalks, the nut ovoid to ellipsoid, brown, up to 1½ inches long, enclosed about ⅓ its length by the cup, the cup thick, cup-shaped, hairy, short-fringed along the rim.

Wood: Hard, heavy, strong, close-grained, pale brown.

Uses: General construction, fuel, fence posts.

Habitat: Low woods.

Range: New Jersey across to southern Missouri, south to Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The Swamp Chestnut Oak is distinguished from other coarsely toothed oaks by the densely hairy, whitish lower leaf surfaces and its short-stalked acorns.

YELLOW CHESTNUT OAK Quercus muhlenbergii Engelm.

Other Names: Chinquapin; Chinquapin Oak.