Part 12

Bur oak occurs throughout the eastern part of the state and as far west as Callahan and Menard Counties, in rich bottomlands along streams, or on rich hillsides along spring-fed rivers. The name alludes to the fringe around the cup of the acorn, which is sometimes large. The tree usually has a broad top of heavy spreading branches and a relatively short body. In maturity it attains a diameter of 5 feet or more and a height of over 80 feet.

The branches frequently have conspicuous corky ridges after the second year.

The BARK is light gray and is usually broken up into small narrow flakes. The deciduous LEAVES resemble somewhat those of the common white oak, but are much larger and have a pair of deep indentations on their border near the base, and wavy notches on the broad, middle and upper portions of the leaf. They range from 6 to 12 inches long and 3 to 6 inches wide. The FRUIT, or acorn, is set deeply in the fringed cup. The fruit is usually 1 inch or more in diameter but varies widely in respect to size and the degree to which the nut is enclosed in the mossy-fringed cup. The fruit matures in one season.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, tough and durable. It is used for much the same purposes as the other white oaks—for lumber, crossties, and fuel.

OVERCUP OAK Quercus lyrata Walt.

Overcup oak, sometimes known as the swamp post oak or water white oak, becomes a large tree with small, often pendulous branches. It is found in moist, rich bottomlands in East Texas to the Navasota River Valley.

The LEAVES are deciduous, 7 to 9 inches long, 1 to 4 inches broad, oblong, wider toward the point, narrowed at the base, dark green above, often whitish beneath, with 7 to 9 distinct pointed lobes. They frequently turn to a bright scarlet or to scarlet and orange in the fall. The BARK is rough, flaky, and gray tinged with red.

The FLOWERS open with the unfolding of the leaves. The FRUIT, an acorn, ripens in one season. The large rounded or somewhat flattened acorn, an inch or more across and ½ to 1 inch high, is nearly covered by the ovate or nearly spherical cup, which is thickened at the base but gradually grows thinner, often irregularly split at the margin of the cup.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, and durable and is used for the same purposes as that of white oak.

SWAMP CHESTNUT OAK Quercus michauxii Nutt.

This species, also called basket oak and cow oak, is distinguished by having a wavy leaf-margin, a large fruit which is sessile or very short stalked, and by the fact that it occurs in its greatest abundance in bottomlands. It is confined chiefly to the eastern part of the state as far west as the Trinity River.

In the appearance of its bark and branches it closely resembles the ordinary white oak, but the leaf lacks deep indentations and the acorn is usually larger. The tree attains heights of about 100 feet and diameters of about 4 feet.

The LEAVES are deciduous, obovate or oblong ovate, notched on the edge somewhat like the chinkapin oak, but the lobes are rounded instead of pointed. They vary from 4 to 8 inches in length, are downy beneath and turn a rich crimson in the fall. The BARK is very light gray, and on old trees is broken into broad flakes or divided into strips.

The acorn, or FRUIT, matures in one season and attains a diameter of more than an inch and a length of 1½ inches. The acorn is a bright, shiny brown and set in a rather shallow cup. The acorn is frequently eaten by cows and this fact gives the tree one of its common names.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, tough, strong, and takes an excellent polish. It is used in manufacturing lumber, veneer, boards (shakes), water-tight barrels, fuel, fence posts, and baskets.

CHINKAPIN OAK Quercus muhlenbergii Engelm.

This oak, also known as chestnut oak, occurs over the eastern part of the state and west to the Guadalupe River; also on the Guadalupe Mountains. It grows on most classes of soils, except in swamps, and is tenacious on shallow, dry, limestone soil. The BARK is light gray, and breaks up in the short narrow flakes on the main trunk and old limbs.

It reaches a height of 20 to 50 feet. The straight, shapely trunk bears a round-topped head composed of small branches, which makes it an attractive shade tree.

The LEAVES are deciduous, oblong, 3 to 6 inches in length, 1½ to 3 inches wide, equally toothed or notched on the edges, resembling the leaves of chestnut oak. The FRUIT, which ripens in the fall of the first season, is light to dark brown when ripe, and edible if roasted. This acorn is ½ to nearly 1 inch long, usually less than 1 inch in diameter, and set in a shallow cup.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, durable, and takes an excellent polish. It is used for barrels, fencing, crossties, fuel, and occasionally for furniture.

AMERICAN ELM (White Elm) Ulmus americana L.

The range of this famous American shade tree extends west to the Dakotas and southward to Coke County, Texas. Within this vast area, it is generally common except in the high mountains and wet bottomlands. It reaches an average height of 60 feet and a diameter of 3 feet. The BARK is dark gray, divided into irregular flat-topped, thick ridges, and is generally firm. An incision into an outer ridge of bark will show alternate brown and cream colored layers. A cross section of slippery elm bark is uniformly cream or tan colored.

The LEAVES are alternate, simple, 4 to 6 inches long, rather thick, somewhat lopsided, double toothed on the margin, and either smooth or scabrous above and soft pubescent or glabrate below. The leaf veins are very pronounced and run in parallel lines from the midrib to the leaf margin.

The FLOWERS are small, perfect, greenish, on slender pedicels, soon pendulous, and appear before the leaves. The FRUIT ripens in the spring and is a light green, oval-shaped samara (winged fruit) with the seed portion in the center and surrounded entirely by a wing. A deep notch in the end of the wing is distinctive of the species.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, tough, and difficult to split. It is used for hubs of wheels, saddle trees, veneer for baskets and crates, and slack cooperage.

American elm is rapidly being destroyed in the East and Midwest by the Dutch elm disease and by phloem necrosis.

WINGED ELM Ulmus alata Michx.

Winged elm gets its common name from the thin corky growth or “wings”, usually found on smaller branches. These “wings” generally end abruptly at the leaf nodes as contrasted by the cedar elm (p. 63) whose “wings” are generally continuous. On large rapidly growing trees the wings are often absent. It occurs in eastern Texas south to the valley of the Guadalupe River, on dry uplands, and in moist soils along streams and swamps. It grows rapidly in moist situations, and may also be planted along roadsides in relatively dry, poor locations. It is comparatively free from disease, though not long-lived. Winged elm is a medium-sized tree 40 to 50 feet in height and rarely as large as 2 feet in diameter. It forms a rather open, round-topped head.