Part 29

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Observed growing along the banks of the following rivers: Williams, Gauley, Greenbrier, New, Great Kanawha, Little Coal, Elk, Guyandot, Twelvepole, Big Sandy, Little Kanawha, Potomac, Shenandoah, Great Cacapon.

=Habitat=.—Banks of streams, occasionally on drier ground.

=Notes=.—A common name of this species, River Birch, signifies its preference for river borders as its habitat. While the tree is not important it serves to hold stream banks from falling in and at the same time adds much to the attractiveness of river scenery. The bark and leaves lack the aroma of some of the other birches.

BEECH

=Fagus grandiflora=, Ehr.

=Form=.—Height, 50-100 feet, diameter, 2-3 feet; trunk often long under forest conditions, in the open short; crown narrow or rounded.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, simple, oblong-ovate, acute, coarsely serrate, 3-5 inches long; dark blue green above, light green and very lustrous beneath, petioles short and hairy.

=Flowers=.—April-May; monoecious, staminate flowers in loose, light green globose heads, about 1 inch in diameter and hanging on long, slender peduncles; the pistillate small, 2-flowered, protected by awl-shaped bracts, and with long red stigmas.

=Fruit=.—A prickly bur, bearing 2 or 3 triangular brown nuts about ¾ inch long.

=Bark=.—On the trunk smooth, close, light gray and mottled with darker spots.

=Wood=.—Hard, strong, close-grained, not durable, light red, with yellowish-white sapwood.

=Range=.—Southern Canada and Wisconsin, south to Florida and Texas.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Common in nearly all parts of the State; less frequent or rare locally in the Eastern Panhandle and in Summers, Mercer, McDowell, and Wyoming counties.

=Habitat=.—Prefers rich bottom lands but grows frequently on thin gravelly slopes and flats, sometimes growing at high elevations.

=Notes=.—This is one of the most familiar of our trees, except in a few restricted areas. It is shade-loving, and is a valuable tree in the farmers’ woodland. The wood is used principally for novelty wares, carpenters’ tool handles, clothespins, fuel and charcoal.

CHESTNUT

=Castanea dentata=, (Marsh) Borkh.

=Form=.—Height 60-100 feet, diameter 3-5 feet; trunk, in close stands with few low branches and little taper; in the open having a short trunk and rounded crown.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, taper-pointed, 6-8 inches long; coarsely serrate with incurved teeth, thin, dull, yellow-green, glabrous.

=Flowers=.—June-July; monoecious, the staminate borne in bunches at intervals on long catkins; the pistillate borne in scattered involucres near the base of the upper catkins.

=Fruit=.—A large prickly bur, opening at its four sutures in early autumn; nuts usually 2-3, compressed, ½-1 inch wide, brown, sweet and edible.

=Bark=.—Moderately rough, with shallow fissures and flat-topped ridges, gray-brown.

=Wood=.—Soft, light, not strong, easily split and worked, coarse-grained, durable, red-brown with light sapwood.

=Range=.—Maine and Michigan southward to Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Abundant in most parts of the State; of best quality along the lower western slopes of the Alleghanies.

=Habitat=.—Thrives in most places in West Virginia, but is less frequently seen on limestone soils and in swampy places.

=Notes=.—The Chestnut tree is prized for its lumber, its nuts, its tannin, and for its numerous uses, especially on the farm. It is a very rapid grower, and sprouts freely from the base of the stump when cut down. A disease known as chestnut blight has entered the State and threatens to exterminate this tree.

CHINQUAPIN