1736

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART 111.

both species abound in the forest; and that he could collect a bushel of oakleaves, that would vary in breadth from that of a finger to that of a hand; andfrom being perfectly sessile, to having a footstalk 2 in. long. He findshundreds of very distinct varieties; and Mr. Childe’s wood-cutter informedhim that, in regard to the qualities and appearance of the wood, thereare three very distinct sorts, which are called the black, the red, and thewhite oak. The black oak produces the hardest, and the white oak thesoftest, timber. Specimens of these three kinds of timber have been sentto us; and though they are taken from trees of not more than a foot indiameter, the difference of the colour of the heart wood is obvious, thoughcertainly not so much as we expected to see it.

T 2. Q. sessix.iflo'ra Sal. The sessile-flowered Oak.

Identification. Sal. Prod., 392.; Smith FI. Br., No. 2. a ; Eng. Bot., t. 1845.

Synonyntes. Q. .Robur Willd., No. 64., Ait., No. 23., Lam. Diet 1. p. 717., H. Du. Ham., 7-p. 176. j Q. R. var. sessile Mart. Ft, Rust., 1.11. j Q. s4ssilis Ehrk. Arb., 87.; Q.platyph^llos, maset feem., Dalech. Hist., 2. 3.; Q. latifolia mas, &c., Bauh. Pin., Rail Syn., 440. j Q. reg&lis Bur-net ; Chene male, Secondat, t. iv. f. 1, 2. p. 18.; Chestnut Oak, Bay Oak; Chene roure or rouvre,Durelin, Fr. j Stein Eiche, gemeine Eiche, spat Eiche, Winter Eiche, dtirr Eiche, roth Eiche,Berg Eiche, Ger. \ Quercia vera, Ital .; Ruble, Span.

Derivation. The name of Chestnut Oak is given to this species, because its wood is said to resemblethat of the sweet chestnut. Bay Oak, from some fancied resemblance of the leaves to those of thelaurel bay. The French names imply the male oak, the red oak, and the hard oak. The Ger-man names, the'stone oak, the common oak, the late oak, in allusion to its lateness in leafing jthe winter oak, from its frequently keeping on its leaves during winter j dry oak, probably from theleaves remaining on the tree after they have become dry and withered; red oak, from the colour ofits wood} and hill oak, from its being more abundant on hilly ground than the Q. peduncuUta.

Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 1845.} Mart. FI. Rust., 1.11.; N. Du Ham., 7. t, 52.} Willd. Abbild.,1.130.; out fig. 1572.} and the plate of this tree in our last Volume.

Spec. Char., tf-c. Leaves on longish footstalks, deciduous, oblong, smooth;sinuses opposite, rather acute ; lobes obtuse. Fruit sessile. Nut oblong.(Smith .) Leaves, when young, pubescent beneath. (Willd.') A tree, readilydistinguished from the preceding species, evenat a distance, by the less tufted appearance,and generally paler green, of its foliage duringsummer; and, in winter, by its less tortuousspray and branches, by its lighter-coloured bark,byits large buds, and by its frequently retainingits leaves, after they have withered, till the fol-lowing spring. There are trees of this speciesat Kenwood (which takes its name from theoaks there, being originally Kern Wood, theacorn, or oak, wood); one in the grounds ofthe Protestant Dissenters’ School at Mill Hill,formerly the residence of Peter Collinson;some, according to Martyn, at Norwood, inSurrey ; and numerous others at Woburn Ab-bey, and at Allesley; besides those in WyreForest, and in many other places which willbe hereafter mentioned. There are also speci-mens at Messrs. Loddiges’s, and in the Horticultural Society’s Garden; and,in 1834, there were thousands of young plants in the Milford Nursery. Ac-cording to Secondat, who wrote in 1785, the kingdom of Naples then boast-ed of a great many oaks of this species, where it was known under the nameof Quercia vera.

1572

Varieties.

t Q. s. 2 pubescens-, Q. s. var j8 Smith Eng. FI., vol.iv.p. ISO.; Q. pu-bescens Willd. Sp. PI., iv. p. 450., Abbild., t. 141., and our Jig. 1573.,Q..R. lanuginosum Eam. Diet., i. p.717.; the Durmast, Mart. FI. Rust.,t. 12.—Leaves downy beneath. Fruit sessile, but sometimes subses-sile. The flowers appear in May, and the fruit ripens in October.Found occasionally in most of the oak woods of Europe; and, ac-cording to Willdenow, having the same general appearance, attainingthe same height, and living to the same age, as Q. sessiliflora. In