Part 23

The LEAVES are simple, ovate or oblong in shape, acute and often long-pointed. When mature they are thick, dark green and lustrous on the upper side, pale and somewhat downy on the lower side, 5 to 7 inches long and 2 to 4 inches wide, wedge-shaped at the base, and entire or irregularly toothed on the margin. The petiole is stout, 1 to 2 inches long, grooved, and enlarged at the base.

The FLOWERS, which appear in March or April are of two kinds, usually borne on separate trees, the male flowers in dense round clusters, and the female flowers solitary.

The FRUIT, ripening in early fall, is a dark purple drupe, oblong or obovate in shape, about 1 inch long, with a thick, tough skin enclosing a flattened stone, and borne on a slender peduncle 3 to 4 inches long.

The WOOD is light, soft, and not strong. It is used for woodenware, broom handles, fruit and vegetable baskets, marketed as tupelo or bay poplar lumber, and paper pulp.

FLOWERING DOGWOOD Cornus florida L.

Dogwood grows in the forests of eastern Texas, usually under the larger forest trees. It is a small tree, up to 30 feet high and 12 inches in diameter, occasionally larger, with a rather flat and spreading crown and short, often crooked trunk.

The BARK is reddish-brown to black and broken up into small 4-sided, scaly blocks.

The LEAVES are opposite, ovate, 3 to 5 inches long, 2 to 3 inches wide, pointed, entire or wavy on the margin, prominently veined, bright green above, pale green or grayish beneath.

The FLOWERS, which unfold from the conspicuous, round, grayish, winter flower buds before the leaves come out, are small, greenish-yellow, arranged in dense heads surrounded by large white or pinkish petal-like bracts, which appear like large spreading flowers 2 to 4 inches across.

The FRUIT is a bright scarlet drupe one-half an inch long and containing a hard, two-celled nutlet containing 1 or 2 seeds. Usually several fruits are contained in one head, and are relished by birds, squirrels, and other animals.

The WOOD is hard, heavy, strong, close-grained, and brown to red in color. It is in demand for cotton-mill machinery, turnery, handles, and forms.

With its masses of early spring flowers, its dark red autumn foliage, and bright red berries, dogwood is probably our most ornamental native tree. It should be used more extensively in eastern Texas for ornamental planting.

TREE SPARKLEBERRY (Farkleberry) Vaccinium arboreum Marsh.

In the coastal belt of eastern Texas as far as Matagorda Bay, farkleberry, or tree huckleberry, grows in moist sandy soil along the banks of ponds and streams. Although it is found from Virginia to Missouri and southward, it reaches its largest size, 20 to 30 feet, near the Gulf Coast of Texas. The crooked trunk may attain a diameter of 8 to 10 inches. Further inland it is a large shrub.

The LEAVES are oval and glossy green, varying up to 2 inches in length and 1 inch in width. They are mostly evergreen, or at least persist on the twigs during the winter.

The FLOWERS are small, white, and bell-shaped, and appear in long open clusters on racemes.

The FRUIT consist of small, round, shiny, nearly black berries which ripen in the fall and, unless eaten by birds or animals, remain until spring. They have a slightly puckering but pleasing flavor.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, close-grained, and light reddish-brown. It is sometimes used for tool handles.

GUM BUMELIA (Woolly Buckthorn—Gum-Elastic) Bumelia lanuginosa (Michx.) Pers.

Gum bumelia, often called false buckthorn or chittamwood, occurs along streams in sandy woods in eastern Texas to the San Antonio River and over the Edwards Plateau to Palo Pinto County. It reaches its largest development probably in Central Texas where it occasionally grows as a tree 80 feet high and 3 feet in diameter.

The branches are short, stout, and stiff, and often armed with straight or curved spines.

The LEAVES are oblong, more or less grouped near the ends of short spurs; rounded at the apex, narrowed at the base; thick, firm, dark green and shiny above, and rusty-woolly beneath. They are from 1 to more than 2 inches long and up to ¾ inch wide.

The FLOWERS are small and open in summer, each borne on a hairy flower-stem (pedicel) about ⅛ inch long. They are borne in fascicles of 15 to 18, near the axils of the new leaves or near the leaf-scars of old leaves. The petals are white and lobed. The fruit is fleshy, black, oblong, about ½ inch in length, borne singly or in a cluster of 2 or 3, and usually dry and firm on the outside and contain a light brown, firm rounded seed. The ripe fruit falls from the tree in autumn.

The WOOD is light brown streaked with white and surrounded by a band of lighter colored sapwood. It is heavy, hard, and close-grained.

B. lanuginosa var. Rigida A. Gray, is found in western and southern Texas, while B. lycioides L. Pers., is found in eastern Texas to Milam County.

COMMON PERSIMMON Diospyros virginiana L.

Persimmon is a well known tree throughout its range. It is small, rarely exceeding 50 feet in height and 18 inches in diameter, occurring in the state as far west as the Colorado River. It prefers dry, open situations, and is most abundant in old fields, though it occurs on rich bottomlands.

The BARK of old trees is almost black and separated into thick, nearly square blocks.