Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/569

 OAK 555 as well as the branchlets hoary beneath ; the fruit stalk is conspicuous, bearing one to three fruits; acorn oblong, chestnut-brown, with a top-shaped, hoary cup. This is usually a large, much-branched tree, found from Virginia to .Texas, and seldom more than 50 m. inland from the coast ; it also extends into Mexico and Cen- tral America, and is found in some of the West India islands. The wood of this species is yel- lowish, fine-grained, and of exceedingly slow growth ; it is considered of greater value than any other for ship building, and is highly prized by all maritime nations ; the tree usually branch- es low, and it therefore supplies an abundance of knees ; it is also of great value to the wheel- wright and the millwright. A seaside variety (var. maritima) has acute leaves, larger fruit, and does not exceed 10 ft. in height; and a still smaller form (var. dentata) is found in the pine barrens of Florida, only 1 or 2 ft. high, with the earliest leaves toothed and near- ly sessile, and the fruit short-peduncled or Willow Oak (Quercus phellos). nearly sessile. The characters of the biennial- fruited oaks have been described; these, like the annual-fruited species, are in groups, one of which is the willow oaks, which are nearly or quite evergreen at the south, their leaves generally entire, and the acorn globose. The upland willow oak (Q. cinerea) is a small worth- less tree of the pine barrens from Virginia southward, resembling the live oak, from which it is distinguished by its narrower, more downy leaves, and its globular acorn. The willow oak (Q. phellos) is distinguished from all other oaks by its willow-like leaves, which are from 3 to 4 in. long, and smooth when old ; the flat cup encloses the base of the hemispherical nut. It is slender, 30 to 50 ft. high, and found along swamps and streams from Long island to Flor- ida ; its timber is of little value ; it is planted in some of the southern cities as a shade tree. The variety laurifolia is a larger tree with longer and broader leaves, and the variety arenaria is a mere shrub with smaller leaves. The shingle oak (Q. imbricaria), also called the laurel oak, has lance-oblong leaves, which are smooth above and downy beneath; it grows from 30 to 50 ft. high, and is found from New Jersey south and west. Its wood, though hard, is poor ; it is used for shingles in some of the western states. The water oak (Q. aquatica) is small and very variable, growing in wet places from Maryland to Florida; it has a smooth bark and usually wedge-shaped, smooth, and shining leaves, which are sometimes lobed and bristle-pointed; the wood is tough but not durable. Related to the preceding in the shape and variableness of its foliage is the black-jack (Q. nigra), which grows on sandy barrens from southern New York to Florida, and westward to Illinois; it is readily dis- tinguished by the wedge-shaped leaves, which are conspicuously broad at the summit and often bristle-pointed, shining above and rusty beneath; the cup is top-shaped, with coarse scales. This tree rarely exceeds 30 ft., and is usually much smaller ; its wood is of little value save for fuel. Lea's oak (Q. Leana), Bartram's oak (Q. heterophylld), and several others, are regarded as hybrids of the preceding biennial species with others. The black and red oaks make another group of biennial species ; these all have pinnatifid or lobed, long-petioled, de- ciduous leaves. The smallest is the bear or black scrub oak (Q. ilicifolia), which is found on rocky hills and sandy plains from New Eng- land to Kentucky ; it is 3 to 8 ft. high, with obovate leaves, ridge-shaped at base, about five- lobed, and abundantly downy beneath; acorn ovoid, often beautifully striped, with a deep orange kernel ; as it produces a great number of scraggy branches, it has been suggested as a Bear or Black Scrub Oak (Quercus ilicifolia). hedge plant for poor lands. The Spanish oak (Q. falcata) was so called by the Spanish set- tlers in the south from its resemblance to the common oak of Spain; it is distinguished by