Part 31

=Fruit=.—Acorn ripening in autumn after flowers; cup small, thin, hairy inside, scales flat and woolly; nut small, oval ½-¾ inch long, brown, sometimes marked with nearly black longitudinal stripes.

=Bark=.—Similar to that of White Oak, but usually rougher and more yellowish.

=Wood=.—Heavy, hard, close-grained, durable in contact with the soil, brown with thick sapwood.

=Range=.—New England, where it is a shrub, southward to Florida and Texas, and west to Kansas.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Distributed in nearly all the hilly parts of the State, though nowhere very common and in some sections rare.

=Habitat=.—Prefers dry sandy or gravelly soil.

=Notes=.—The Post Oak in winter may easily be mistaken for a White Oak, but in summer and fall the small acorns and the peculiar lobing of the leaves assist the student in distinguishing it from other species. It is not commercially important but should be encouraged to grow on account of the superior lasting qualities of the wood when used for fence posts or otherwise in contact with the soil.

BUR OAK

=Quercus macrocarpa=, Michx.

=Form=.—Height 40-75 feet, diameter 2-4 feet; trunk usually short, bearing a rounded crown.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, simple, 6-12 inches long, wedge-shaped at the base, usually crenate lobed toward the apex with deep sinuses and rounded lobes in the middle; thick and firm, dark green and glossy above, pale pubescence beneath.

=Flowers=.—Similar to the other annual oaks, before described.

=Fruit=.—Matures in autumn of first season; very large acorn with a deep cup heavily fringed on the rim; nut ovoid, 1-1½ inches long, brown, pubescent, about one-third enclosed in the cup.

=Bark=.—Deeply furrowed and similar to that of White Oak; corky on the twigs.

=Wood=.—Heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, durable, brownish, with thin sapwood.

=Range=.—Nova Scotia and Manitoba south to West Virginia and west to Kansas and Texas.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Rare. Observed in the following localities: Hardy County, between Romney and Moorefield; Grant County, several trees on Lunice Creek near Petersburg; Morgan County, near Great Cacapon station. Reported from Tyler County.

=Habitat=.—Usually on rich soils near streams.

=Notes=.—This is a very large and valuable oak in Kansas and other states but is too rare to merit much attention in West Virginia. The beautifully-lobed leaves and large acorns will not fail to interest the student of trees.

SWAMP WHITE OAK

=Quercus bicolor=, Willd.

=Form=.—Height 50-75 feet, diameter 2-3 feet; trunk, in the open, usually short, supporting a broad round-topped crown; in close stands the trunk is longer and well-formed; lower branches usually drooping.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, simple, 5-7 inches long, 3-5 inches broad, obovate, coarsely sinuate or shallow-lobed, margins thick and firm, smooth and shining above, paler and tomentose beneath.

=Flowers=.—May, with the leaves; monoecious; the staminate on long drooping catkins; the pistillate few-flowered, borne above on relatively long peduncles.

=Fruit=.—Matures in autumn after the flowers; acorns on pubescent stems 1-4 inches long; cup deeply saucer-shaped, enclosing about one-third of the nut, which is ¾ to 1¼ inches long, chestnut brown, usually hairy at apex.

=Bark=.—Rough on trunks with deep furrows and flat-topped and scaly ridges; on branches soon becoming rough, with scales which often curl back at the edges.

=Wood=.—Heavy, hard, strong, tough, light brown, with thin and hardly distinguishable sapwood.

=Range=.—Maine, south to Georgia and west to Michigan and Arkansas.