Part 7

BEECH FAMILY

White Oak Group: Fruit requires 1 year to mature; leaves without sharp points to lobes (except chinquapin oak leaves). Bark: usually lighter gray than on black or red oaks.

212. POST OAK (Quercus stellata Wang) most abundant tree of dry, sandy, upland woods. Leaves: 3 to 5 inches long, with 5 rounded lobes wider toward the outer end; like bur oak but smaller; dead leaves often cling in winter, especially on young trees. Flowers: as in other oaks, male in catkins, female inconspicuous, both kinds on same tree. Fruit: an oval acorn, ½ to 1 inch long in a rather shallow cup. Bark: rough, with deep grooves. Twigs: very fuzzy when young. Wood: hard, durable in soil but difficult to season, used mainly for fuel, fence posts and crossties.

213. SCRUB OAK: or dwarf post oak (probably a variety of Q. stellata). Habitat: on limestone hills where common. Leaves: similar to post oak but less than 3 inches long and less deeply lobed. Bark: thin, light gray, with loose scales. Sometimes attains tree size though usually shrubby and growing in dense thickets, typically not over 20 feet high.

214. BUR OAK or mossy-cup oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.) common large tree of lowlands; heavy, thick branches make it the sturdiest looking of our oaks. Leaves: 6 to 12 inches long, deeply 5 to 7 lobed with the lobes rounded and larger toward the tip, upper lobe largest and wavy margined or shallowly lobed. Acorns: large, 2 inches or more in diameter, the cup usually deep and heavily fringed. Wood: for cabinetmaking and all sorts of construction, shipbuilding, etc.

215. SWAMP CHESTNUT OAK or basket oak (Quercus prinus L.) Habitat: rich bottomlands, not common. Leaves: obovate, margins deeply wavy or with small, regularly rounded notches, downy beneath, 3 to 8 inches long. Bark: light gray, with broad flakes. Acorns: about 1½ inches long by 1 inch wide, shiny brown, with a shallow cup, eaten by cows (cow oak). Wood: used for lumber, veneer, cooperage, wheels, implements, and baskets.

216. CHINQUAPIN OAK or chestnut oak (Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm.) Habitat: various, prefers limestone soil, common. Leaves: similar to preceding species but more sharply notched. Bark: thick, usually silvery gray, large, loose scales on surface. Acorns: smaller than preceding and have very short stems. Branches: typically fewer, larger and more irregular than preceding. Wood: hard, strong, close-grained, durable, used for cooperage, furniture, crossties, fuel.

Black or Red Oak Group: Fruit requires two years to mature, leaves have sharp points on lobes.

217. WATER OAK, duck oak, or pin oak (Quercus nigra L.) Habitat: low, sandy land, rare. Leaves: usually about 2½ inches long and 1½ wide, narrow toward base, usually broader toward tip, shallowly lobed toward tip or entire, smooth and dark green above, tardily deciduous. Bark: rather smooth, reddish brown. Fruit: acorns usually solitary, very short-stalked, light brown, ½ to ⅔ inch long. Wood: heavy, hard, strong, little used except for fuel and crossties.

218. BLACK JACK OAK (Quercus marilandica Muench.) Habitat: dry, upland woods, sandy soil, with post oaks where few other trees grow, common. Leaves: 4 to 10 inches long, very wide at tip, narrow toward base, only very shallowly lobed, dark above, leathery, dead leaves often clinging to young trees in winter. Bark: rough, dark, broken into small, hard flakes. Fruit: an acorn about ¾ inch long with a cup enclosing about half the nut which is yellowish brown and often striped. Wood: heavy, hard and strong but little used except as fuel.

219. RED OAK (Quercus species). Several species of red oak are not easily distinguished except by specialists and the problem is complicated by the fact that many species interbreed readily, thus producing many variations from the typical forms. Probably Q. shumardii var. schneckii is the most common red oak around Dallas. The leaves are similar in shape to the black oak but are thinner and lack the prominent rusty hairs in the forks of the veins; lobes are usually from 5 to 7 and vary greatly as to length and width. The Texas red oak (Q. texana Buckley) is a closely related smaller tree of dry uplands. The Spanish oak (Q. rubra L.) is another red oak of dry uplands; it is easily recognized when the leaves assume one typical form which is narrow and rounded at the base with the three or more narrow lobes occurring near the tip. For more complete descriptions of these trees the reader is referred to the latest edition of Sargent’s “Manual of the Trees of North America.”

NETTLE FAMILY

220. RED OR SLIPPERY ELM (Ulmus fulva Michx.) Habitat: principally in rich soil on low hillsides or stream banks, a common tree. Leaves: doubly toothed, unequal at the base, 3 to 7 inches long, rough on both sides. Twigs: somewhat mucilaginous or “slippery” when chewed; buds covered with rusty hairs. Inner BARK: very mucilaginous, used in medicine; outer BARK: grayish brown with flat ridges. Flowers: small, inconspicuous, appearing very early in spring, before the leaves; in clusters, each flower on a long drooping stalk. Fruit: green-winged seeds, disk-shaped, notched at tip but without incurved tips. Wood: close-grained, tough, heavy, hard, used for fence posts, crossties, implements, ribs for small boats, etc.

221. WHITE OR AMERICAN ELM (Ulmus americana L.) Habitat: similar to red elm, less common. Leaves: similar except usually rather smooth above and downy below, veins prominent below and parallel from midrib to leaf edge. Twigs: brownish and smoother, buds without rusty hairs, not, or very slightly, mucilaginous. Cross section of BARK shows alternate layers of brown and white; surface dark gray with irregular, flat-topped ridges. Flowers: very short-stalked. Seed: wings notched, with incurving tips. Wood: hard, strong, tough, difficult to split, coarse-grained, used for wheel-hubs, saddletrees, floors, boats.

222. CEDAR ELM (Ulmus crassifolia Nutt.) Habitat: varied, our most abundant elm, resists drouth and root rot, hence recommended as a shade tree. Leaves: 1 to 2 inches long, usually blunt tipped. Young TWIGS: reddish and slightly downy, sometimes have corky wings. Flowers and Fruit: in late summer and early autumn. Branches: relatively short and numerous, making dense shade in spite of small size of leaves. Wood: brittle, sometimes used for hubs, furniture and fencing; mostly for fuel and charcoal.

223. WINGED ELM (Ulmus alata Michx.) Usually found on low, sandy land; not common. Leaves: 1½ to 3 inches long, pointed at the tip. Twigs: usually with many broad, corky wings, though sometimes absent. Flowers: in spring. Wood: similar to other elms.

224. ROUGH-LEAVED HACKBERRY (Celtis occidentalis var. crassifolia Gray). Habitat: varied, more common on rich soil. Leaves: ovate, toothed at least toward the long point, 2 to 4 inches long. Fruit: a roundish, dark purple berry ripening in early fall, often clinging to the tree through the winter and forming a popular food for many birds; about ¼ inch in diameter. Bark: of trunk usually conspicuous with its characteristic warty projections. Wood: heavy but soft and weak, decays rapidly when exposed, little used except for fuel. The characteristic brown gall on the twigs is almost a mark of recognition in winter, when trees are too small to show the typical warty bark.

225. SOUTHERN HACKBERRY (Celtis laevigata Willd.) Less common than previous species. Distinguished by the smooth margins of the slightly longer and narrower LEAVES and by the orange or yellowish color of the FRUIT. Both trees are widely planted for shade as they are resistant to root rot.

226. BOIS D’ARC OR OSAGE ORANGE (Maclura pomifera Schn.) also called horse-apple. Abundant in rich bottomland. Leaves: entire, dark green and glossy, oval, pointed at tip, 3 to 5 inches long. The yellowish-brown BARK distinguishes it from any other thorny tree, contains tannin and that of root a yellow dye. Flowers: monoecious, the female in a rounded ball, male in an elongated cluster. Fruit: resembles a very rough, large, bright green orange. Wood: bright orange in color, most durable in contact with the soil, used principally for posts.

227. RED MULBERRY (Morus rubra L.) Common in rich lowlands, often in the shade of larger trees. Leaves: 3 to 5 inches long or rarely much larger in dense shade, toothed, ovate, pointed at tip, rounded or heart-shaped at base; on young trees often mitten-shaped or deeply and variously lobed, rough above. Flowers: monoecious or dioecious, in drooping catkins, the female shorter. Fruit: red to black, resembles blackberry, ripens through May, very attractive to many birds, especially the migrating thrushes. Bark: thin, dark grayish brown, breaking into long scales. Twigs: slender, somewhat zigzag, with milky juice. Wood: light, soft, weak, used for fence posts, cooperage and boat building.

BIRTHWORT FAMILY

228. WOOLY PIPEVINE (Aristolochia tomentosa Sims.) or Dutchman’s pipe. Habitat: low, rich woods, not abundant. Leaves: large, round-heart shaped, downy, soft, margins entire. Stems: slender, very high climbing. Flowers: tube u-curved like a Dutchman’s pipe, with lobes turned back; small yellowish, inconspicuous flowers not to be confused with the leather flower (Viorna) which is also sometimes called pipevine; Viorna has four thick, leathery, purplish petals shaped like the bowl of a pipe. Fruit: many flat, black, shiny, pie-shaped seeds packed in a six-angled, cylindrical seed case about 1 to 2 inches in diameter and 2 to 3 inches long. A closely related cultivated vine is often planted where a dense screen is desired. B (Vol. I, p. 646).

MOONSEED FAMILY

229. CAROLINA MOONSEED (Cocculus carolinus (L) DC.) also called wild sarsaparilla or coral vine. Habitat: hedgerows and thickets, edges of woods, a common vine. Leaves: variable, oval to slightly heart-shaped, usually blunt or rounded at the tip, usually about 2 or 3 inches long. Stems: slender, green and somewhat fuzzy when young. Flowers: dioecious, small, greenish, 6-parted. Fruits: size of small peas, soft, scarlet, one-seeded, in small, dense clusters; very decorative in winter and excellent bird attraction.

230. CANADA MOONSEED (Menispermum canadense L.) very rare vine of low woods. Stems: 6 to 12 feet long. Leaves: 3 to 7-angled or shallowly lobed, broader than long, 4 inches or much more. Flowers: small, white, 6-8 petals, 12-24 stamens. Fruit: black with a bloom, resembling small grapes; seed spirally curved. B (Vol. II, p. 131).

PLANE TREE FAMILY

231. SYCAMORE or buttonwood (Platanus occidentalis L.) a common tree, along stream banks and in low woods, often the largest tree in its locality as it grows rapidly. Bark: thin, smooth, greenish gray, flaking off in large patches and exposing the under bark which is whitish like that on limbs, especially conspicuous in winter woods. Leaves: 4 to 7 inches long and about as broad, very coarsely toothed, often shallowly 3 or 5-lobed, light green above, paler below. Twigs: slender, rather shiny and zigzag; bud with a single, cap-like scale, enclosed by the base of the leaf-stalk. Fruit: a compact ball about 1 inch across, remaining on its drooping stem all winter, composed of many seeds which separate and are blown away in spring. Often planted as street tree because of rapid growth and resistance to drouth, but the large leaves and flaking bark cause unsightly litter. Wood: coarse-grained, hard, not strong, heavy, hard to split; used for butchers’ blocks, furniture, interior trim, and tobacco boxes.

ROSE FAMILY