Part 4 (1/2)
One-third natural size.]
The _leaves_ resemble somewhat those of the common white oak, but have a pair of deep indentations on their border near the base, and wavy notches on the broad middle and upper portions of the leaf. They range from 6 to 12 inches long and 3 to 6 inches wide. The _fruit_, or acorn, is a nut set deeply in a fringed cup. It is sometimes 1 inch or more in diameter but varies widely in respect to size and the degree to which the nut is enclosed in the mossy fringed cup.
The _wood_ is heavy, hard, strong, tough and durable. It is used for much the same purposes as the other white oaks, lumber, piling, veneer logs, crossties and fuel.
The swamp white oak, _Quercus bicolor_ Willd., occurs scattered in swamps, through the State. The leaves are obovate, coa.r.s.ely toothed and wedge-shaped below. They are thick, dark green and s.h.i.+ning above, pale and downy beneath. The acorns are borne in a deep rough scaly cup, on stems 2-4 inches long. The wood is like that of the white oak.
The bark is gray-brown, separating into large, papery scales which curl back.
+YELLOW CHESTNUT OAK+ _Quercus muhlenbergii_ Engelm.
THIS oak, also called the chinquapin oak, which is an excellent timber tree, occurs throughout the State. It grows on practically all cla.s.ses of soil and in all moisture conditions except in swamps, and is a very tenacious tree on shallow, dry soil. The _bark_ is light gray, and breaks up into short narrow flakes on the main trunk and old limbs. It reaches a height of 70 to 90 feet. The straight shapely trunk bears a round-topped head composed of small branches, which makes it an attractive shade tree.
[Ill.u.s.tration: YELLOW CHESTNUT OAK
One-third natural size.]
The _leaves_ are oblong, 3 to 6 inches in length, 1-1/2 to 3 inches wide, and equally toothed or notched on the edges, resembling the leaves of the chestnut oak. The _fruit_, which ripens in the fall of the first season, is light to dark brown when ripe, and edible if roasted. This acorn is from one-half to nearly an inch long, usually less than one inch in diameter, and is set in a shallow cup.
The _wood_ is like that of the white oak, heavy, very hard, tough, strong, durable, and takes an excellent polish. It is used in manufacturing lumber and timbers, crossties, fence posts and fuel. A portion of the lumber no doubt goes into furniture.
The basket oak, or swamp chestnut oak, _Quercus prinus_ L., is found in the woods in southern Illinois. It resembles the white oak in its bark and branches, but has larger acorns. The leaves resemble those of yellow chestnut oak.
The rock chestnut oak, _Quercus montana_ Willd., is an eastern oak that is rare on the hills of Union and Alexander counties.
+POST OAK+ _Quercus stellata_ w.a.n.g.
THE post oak is usually a medium-sized tree, with a rounded crown, commonly reaching a height of 50 to 80 feet and a diameter of 1 to 2 feet, but sometimes considerably larger. It occurs from Mason County south to the Ohio River being most common in the ”Post Oak Flats.” The soil is a light gray silt loam underlaid by ”tight clay.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: POST OAK
One-third natural size.]
The _bark_ is rougher and darker than the white oak and broken into smaller scales. The stout young twigs and the leaves are coated at first with a thick light-colored fuzz which soon becomes darker and later drops away entirely.
The _leaves_ are usually 4 to 5 inches long and nearly as broad, deeply 5-lobed with broad rounded divisions, the lobes broadest at the ends.
They are thick and somewhat leathery, dark green and s.h.i.+ny on the upper surface, lighter green and rough hairy beneath.
The _flowers_, like those of the other oaks, are of two kinds on the same tree, the male in drooping, cl.u.s.tered catkins, the female inconspicuous. The _fruit_ is an oval acorn, 1/2 to 1 inch long, set in a rather small cup which may or may not be stalked.
The _wood_ is very heavy, hard, close-grained, light to dark brown, durable in contact with the soil. It is used for crossties and fence posts, and along with other oaks of the white oak cla.s.s for furniture and other purposes.
+NORTHERN RED OAK+ _Quercus rubra_ L.
(_Quercus borealis_ Michx.)
THE red oak of the North occurs throughout the State. It usually attains a height of about 70 feet and a diameter ranging from 2 to 3 feet, but is sometimes much larger. The forest-grown tree is tall and straight with a clear trunk and narrow crown.