Part 10

The WOOD is heavy, hard and strong. It is used for firewood and is made into charcoal.

WATER OAK Quercus nigra L.

Water oak is native along the borders of swamps and streams and on rich bottomlands in Texas as far west as the Colorado River. It has been widely planted along streets and in parks as a shade tree. When fully grown this tree reaches a height of about 80 feet and a diameter exceeding 1 to 3 feet. The BARK is smooth, light brown tinged with red, and has many smooth, thin scales over the surface. Water oak can be best distinguished from the willow oak—a close associate, but longer-lived—by the differences in the general shape and size of leaves.

The LEAVES are simple, quite variable in shape, mostly oblong, broader near the point, and more narrow at the base, giving a wedge-shaped effect, often slightly three-lobed at the outer end, thin, and of a dull bluish-green color, paler below than above; mostly smooth, and usually 2 or 3 inches long and 1 to 2 inches wide; remain green for some time, then turn yellow and gradually fall from the tree during the winter.

The FLOWERS appear in April when the leaves begin to unfold. The FRUIT, an acorn, matures at the end of the second season. The acorn is from ½ to ⅔ inch long and nearly as broad, light brown or yellowish-brown and often striped, enclosed at the base only in a thin saucer-shaped cup.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, and strong, light brown in color, with lighter-colored sapwood. The wood is utilized chiefly for crossties and fuel.

WILLOW OAK (Pin Oak) Quercus phellos L.

Willow oak, also called water oak, and pin oak, occurs in the eastern part of the state to the Brazos River. It is frequently found in lowlands and along the borders of rivers and swamps, but often also on rich sandy uplands. It is a beautiful and long-lived tree, and desirable for roadsides, lawns and parks.

The BARK is generally smooth and of a reddish-brown color; with age, the bark becomes slightly roughened and divided by narrow ridges.

The slender willow-like LEAVES on a tree whose habit of growth is manifestly that of an oak, make the tree easy to identify in the forest. The deciduous leaves are 2 to 5 inches long and ½ to 1 inch wide, smooth, light green and shiny above, but dull and usually smooth below; alternate in arrangement on the twig and borne on a short stout petiole.

The FRUIT, small acorns, closely set along the stem, matures at the end of the second year. The nut is a light yellow-brown hemisphere, about ½ inch in diameter, its base scarcely enclosed in the shallow, pale greenish-red or reddish-brown cup. The nuts are eaten as food by bluejays, grackles (blackbirds), several other species of birds, and by rodents.

The WOOD is not separated commercially from other species in the red oak group. It is heavy, strong, rather coarse-grained, light brown tinged with red, and not durable when exposed to the weather. It is used locally for crossties, bridge planks, barn sills, and general construction.

BLUEJACK OAK (Sandjack Oak) Quercus incana Bartr.

This species, which grows on dry sand hills, is usually no more than 25 feet in height and 5 or 6 inches in diameter; ranging mainly through East Texas extending as far west as the Brazos River and scattering in Central and Northwest Texas.

The BARK is similar to that of blackjack, being divided into thick nearly square blocks 1 to 2 inches in length and covered with small dark brown or nearly black scales slightly tinged with red.

The LEAVES of this tree are oblong-lanceolate, pale blue-green above, almost white beneath; 2 to 5 inches in length and 1 to l½ inches in width with a stout yellow midrib. The tree is most attractive in early spring when it is covered with the light red flowers and young leaves.

ACORNS are produced in great profusion, sessile, or on a short stock. They are rounded at the ends, striate, and about ½ inch in length, and mature at the end of the second year.

The WOOD is hard, strong, close-grained, light brown, tinged with red. It has a dark colored sapwood. The wood is of no value except for fuel.

There are several hybrids of this species reported in Texas.

EMORY OAK Quercus emoryi Torr.

In the canyons and on the southern slopes of the Davis and Chisos Mountains occurs this interesting oak with glossy, spiny, “holly-like” leaves, and sweet, edible acorns. A small round-topped tree up to 30 or 40 feet in height, the emory oak has drooping branches and slender, decidedly reddish branchlets.

The LEAVES are mostly persistent, oblong, pointed, smooth or sharply toothed along the margin, thick, very glossy green, about 2 inches long and less than 1 inch wide.

The acorn, or FRUIT, is borne close to the branchlet and matures in one season. It is oblong in shape, ½ inch or more in length, with a dark brown or nearly black nut enclosed for about one-third its length in a narrow cup. The latter is lined with dense gray fuzz or “tomentum.”

The WOOD is heavy, strong, somewhat brittle, close-grained, dark brown, with light brown sapwood tinged with red. The acorns are an important article of food for Mexicans and Indians.

MEXICAN BLUE OAK (Q. oblongifolia Torr.), closely resembling emory oak, is a smaller tree and does not occur at the higher elevations (over 6,000 ft.) where emory oak may be found.

GRAY OAK (Quercus grisea Liebm.) occurs in the Trans-Pecos area in Texas. This species is a scrub or small tree 20 to 30 feet high, but sometimes reaching a height of 65 feet.

LIVE OAK Quercus virginiana Mill.

Live oak range extends from southeastern Virginia through the lower Coastal Plain of the Atlantic and Gulf States; in Texas, from the mouth of the Rio Grande north to the Red River and west to the Guadalupe Mountains, also in southern Mexico and Cuba. It is a tree of striking character from its wide-spreading habit; sometimes reaching more than 100 feet in spread; with a short stout trunk, 3 to 4 feet in diameter, dividing in several large limbs with nearly horizontal branches, forming a low, dense, round-topped head. Its height is commonly from 40 to 50 feet. The BARK on the trunk and large branches is dark brown tinged with red, and slightly furrowed. It grows to largest size on the rich hammocks and low ridges near the coast and only a few feet above the water level. Slow-growing and long-lived, it is one of the most desirable trees for roadside and ornamental planting throughout most of its range. It is one of the very few trees that is apparently immune to cotton root-rot.