CHAP. cr.

coryla'ceaj. que'rcus.

1875

iQ.P.3 acuminata Michx. FI. Bor. Amer., ii. p. 196., Quer., No. 5. t. 8.,and our Jig. 1737.; Q. P. acuminata Michx. fill. N. Amer. Syl., i.p. 51. t. 10.; Q. Castanea Willd. Sp. PI., iv. p.44]., Pursh FI. Amer.Sept., ii. p. 634., N. Du Ham., vii.p. 167., Smith in Rees’s Cycl., N. 51.,

Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. The yellowOak. — Leaves on long footstalks ;obtuse at the base, sharply serrated.

Fruit of moderate size; cup hemi-spherical. ( Michx. ) The yellow oak,according to the younger Michaux,is a fastigiate-growing tree, from70 ft. to 80 ft. high, and with a trunkabout 2 ft. in diameter. The bark iswhitish, very slightly furrowed, andsometimes divided into plates. Thewood is yellowish; but the tint isnot sufficiently bright to entitle itto rank among the ornamental woods. The leaves are lanceolate,obtuse at the base, and ending in a sharp point, regularly toothed,of a light green above, and whitish beneath. The acorns are small,roundish-ovate, and contained in shallow slightly scaly cups: theyare considered sweeter than those of any other kind of oak in theUnited States. It is generally found in the middle and westernstates, taking the banks of the Delaware for its northern boundary,and those of the Savannah for its southern. It is, however, verythinly disseminated, and is frequently lost sight of for several days’journey, even in those states where it is most plentiful. From itscomparative rareness, it does not appear to have been applied to anyuses in the arts; and Michaux says that the pores in its wood areso irregularly disposed, and so numerous, that the wood would pro-bably possess very little of either strength or durability. The treeis, however, very ornamental from its beautiful foliage, and fastigiatehabit of growth. It was introduced in 1822; and there are plants atMessrs. Loddiges’s.

7 Q. P. 4 pimiila Michx. FI. Bor. Amer.,ii. p. 196., Quer., No. 5. t. 9. f. 1.;Q. P. Chinquapin Michx. fil. Arb., ii. p. 65. t. 10., N. Amer. Syl.,i. p. 55. 1.11., and our fig. 1738.; Q. Chinquapin Pursh FI. Amer.Sept., ii. p. 634., Smith in Rees’s Cycl., No.

48.; Q. jorinbides Willd. Sp. PI., iv. p. 440.,

N. Du Ham., vii. p. 166. The Chinquapin,or Dwarf Chestnut, Oak. — Leaves on shortishpetioles; somewhat lanceolate; glaucous be-neath. (ACich.v.) The dwarf chestnut oak isone of the smallest of the genus, as, accordingto the younger Michaux, it rarely exceeds30 in. in height; though Pursh says it grows tothe height of 3 ft. or 4 ft. The leaves are oval-acuminate, regularly, but not deeply, dentated,of a light green above, and whitish beneath.

The acorns are enclosed, for about one third oftheir length, in scaly sessile cups: they are ofthe middle size, somewhat elongated, similarly rounded at both ends,and very sweet. Nature seems to have sought to compensate for thediminutive size of this shrub by the abundance of its fruit: the stem,which is sometimes no bigger than a quill, is stretched at full lengthupon the ground by the weight of its thickly clustering acorns.(N. Amer. Syl., i. p. 56.) This shrub grows most abundantly in thenorthern and middle states of North America, and is usually found6 F 3