Part 57

=Oxydendrum arboreum=, (L.) D. C.

=Form=.—Height 30-60 feet, diameter 12-18 inches; trunk medium long and slender; crown narrow and round-topped.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, pointed, serrate, smooth and shining, 5-7 inches long.

=Flowers=.—July; perfect; small, white, in long, one-sided racemes clustered in an open, terminal panicle.

=Fruit=.—Matures in early autumn; a 5-valved capsule, often persistent into the winter.

=Bark=.—Thick, roughened by fissures and broken, grayish ridges.

=Wood=.—Hard, heavy, close-grained reddish-brown with lighter sapwood.

=Range=.—Pennsylvania and Indiana southward mostly along the mountains to Florida and Louisiana.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Found in all sections west of the Alleghanies, rare in the eastern part of the State.

=Habitat=.—Light, well-drained soils of hillsides and bottoms.

=Notes=.—Sour-wood, or Sour Gum, although quite common in most parts of West Virginia, is not often used except for unimportant domestic purposes. The tree is very ornamental when in bloom but is infrequently planted.

COMMON PERSIMMON

=Diospyros virginiana=, L.

=Form=.—Height 25-50 feet, diameter 8-14 inches; trunk usually short; crown broad and rounded when not too much crowded.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, simple, ovate-oblong, 4-6 inches long, smooth, entire, dark-green and shining above, often somewhat hairy beneath.

=Flowers=.—May-June; polygamous, white or pale yellow; the staminate in 2-3-flowered cymes; the pistillate solitary and borne on short stalks.

=Fruit=.—Matures after frost in autumn; a spherical yellowish, plum-like berry, containing from 1-8 large seeds, and with large, persistent calyx; astringent when green, sweet and edible when fully ripe.

=Bark=.—Rough on old trunks, with dark gray ridges which are broken into somewhat rectangular sections.

=Wood=.—Hard, heavy, close-grained, taking a high polish, brown to black with yellowish sapwood, sometimes streaked with black.

=Range=.—Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas and Iowa.

=Distribution in West Virginia=.—Not abundant but common locally in scattered clumps throughout the State, most common east of the Alleghanies. Not found at high elevations.

=Habitat=.—Thrives best in light sandy soils of bottoms and hillsides.

=Notes=.—This tree is not important as a wood-producer on account of its small size and scattered distribution. It is well known because of its peculiar fruit.

OPOSSUM WOOD

=Halesia Carolina=, L.

=Form=.—A small tree, reaching a height in this State of 30-50 feet with a diameter up to 10 or 12 inches. Farther south it reaches a much larger size.

=Leaves=.—Alternate, simple, 4-6 inches long, oblong-ovate, finely serrate, smooth above when old, slightly pubescent beneath.

=Flowers=.—Early spring with the leaves; perfect, white, about 1 inch long, bell-shaped, drooping on slender pedicels in crowded fascicles or short racemes.