Part 57

Buds: Pointed, angular, gray or reddish-brown, hairy, up to ½ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades deeply to shallowly 7- to 9-lobed, the lobes bristle-tipped, dark green, shiny and usually smooth on the upper surface, smooth, finely hairy, or hairy only along the veins on the lower surface, up to 10 inches long and 8 inches wide; leaf stalk up to 5 inches long, stout, smooth or finely 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 clusters, the pistillate in groups of 1-4.

Fruit: Acorns solitary or 2 together, with or without a short stalk, the nut ovoid or ellipsoid, up to ¾ inch long, reddish-brown, not more than ½ enclosed by the cup, the cup with scales not appressed at the tip, thus appearing ragged.

Wood: Hard, heavy, coarse-grained, reddish-brown.

Uses: General construction, fuel, fence posts.

Habitat: Mostly upland woods.

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

Distinguishing Features: Black Oak is easily distinguished by its large, angular, gray-hairy buds and its acorns with their ragged-edged cup.

CAROLINA BUCKTHORN Rhamnus caroliniana Walt.

Growth Form: Small tree to 30 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 6 inches; crown spreading.

Bark: Gray, somewhat roughened.

Twigs: Slender, gray or pale brown, smooth or somewhat hairy; leaf scars alternate, crescent-shaped, with 3 bundle traces.

Buds: Lance-shaped, pointed, up to ¼ inch long, very hairy.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades elliptic, short-pointed at the tip, tapering or somewhat rounded at the base, up to 6 inches long, up to 2 inches broad, finely toothed or toothless along the edges, dark green, smooth, and glossy on the upper surface, paler and smooth or finely hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks finely hairy, up to 1 inch long.

Flowers: Few in umbrella-like clusters, inconspicuous, appearing when the leaves are nearly grown, each flower with 5 small petals.

Fruit: Spherical berries, up to ⅓ inch in diameter, red and shiny, containing 2-4 seeds.

Wood: Hard, light in weight, close-grained, light brown.

Use: Fuel.

Habitat: Rocky woods and along streams.

Range: Virginia across to Kansas, south to Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The Carolina Buckthorn is distinguished by its shiny, elliptical leaves, its red berries, and its small stature.

COMMON BUCKTHORN Rhamnus cathartica L.

Growth Form: Small tree to 25 feet tall, often branching from near the base; trunk diameter up to 10 inches; crown spreading and irregular.

Bark: Gray to brown, roughened when mature.

Twigs: Gray to brown, usually smooth, some of them usually ending in a spine; leaf scars opposite to nearly so, narrow, with 3 bundle traces.

Buds: Lanceolate, brown, smooth, up to ¼ inch long.

Leaves: Broadly elliptic to ovate to nearly orbicular, rounded to pointed at the tip, usually rounded at the base, up to 2½ inches long and up to 1½ inches wide, finely toothed along the edges, smooth on both surfaces, the veins prominent; leafstalks slender, smooth, up to 1 inch long.