11. Quercus Marilandica Muench. Blackjack Or Barren Oak

Fig. 1524

Quercus nigra /S L. Sp. PI. 995. 1753.

Quercus marilandica Muench. Hausv. 5: 253. 1770.

A tree, sometimes 6o° high, usually lower; maximum trunk diameter 2°; bark nearly black, very rough in ridges. Leaves obovate in outline, stellate-pubescent above and brown-tomentose beneath when young, 3-5-lobed toward the broad usually nearly truncate apex, cuneate below, the lobes short, entire or sparingly toothed, bristle-tipped; mature leaves dark green, glabrous above, paler and more or less floccose beneath, 3,'-7' long, 2'-5' wide; fruit maturing the second autumn; styles recurved; cup deep, s"-8" broad, its bracts oblong-lanceolate, appressed, pubescent; acorn ovoid, 2-3 times as high as the cup.

In dry soil, Long Island, N. Y., to Minnesota, Nebraska, Florida and Texas. Wood hard, strong, dark brown; weight per cubic foot 46 lbs. May-June. Acorns ripe Oct.-Nov. Iron or jack-oak.

Quercus Rudkini Britton, Bull. Torr. Club 9: 14, a hybrid of this with Q. Phellos, occurs from Staten Island, N. Y., to North Carolina.

Quercus Brittoni W. T. Davis, Scien. Am. 67: 145, is a hybrid with O. ilicifolia. Staten Island, N. Y.

12. Quercus Nigra L. Water Or Black-Jack Oak

Fig. 1525

Quercus nigra L. Sp. PI. 995- I753-

Quercus nigra var. aquatica Lam. Encycl. 1: 721. 1783.

Quercus aquatica Walt. Fl. Car. 234. 1788.

A tree, with maximum height of about 8o° and trunk diameter of 40; bark gray, rough in ridges. Leaves spatulate or obovate, 1-3-lobed at the apex, or some of them entire and rounded, coriaceous, short-petioled, rather bright green and shining on both sides, finely reticulate-veined, glabrous when mature except tufts of hairs in the axils of the veins beneath, 1 1/2-3' long, the lobes low, usually obtuse and bristle-tipped; styles recurved; fruit maturing the second autumn; cup saucer-shaped with a rounded base, 5"-7" broad, its bracts appressed; acorn globose-ovoid, 2-3 times as high as the cup.

Along streams and swamps or sometimes on the upland, Delaware to Kentucky, Missouri, Florida and Texas. Wood hard, strong, close-grained, light brown; weight per cubic foot 45 lbs. April-May. Acorns ripe Sept.-Oct. Leaves of seedlings and young shoots incised or pinnatifid, very bristly. Duck-, spotted-, barren-, punk- or possum-oak.

13. Quercus Phellos L. Willow Oak. Peach Or Sand-Jack Oak

Fig. 1526

Quercus Phellos L. Sp. PI. 994. 1753.

A tree, with slightly roughened reddish-brown bark, attaining a maximum height of about 8o° and a trunk diameter of 30. Leaves narrowly oblong or oblong-lanceolate, entire, acute at both ends, very short-petioled, bristle-tipped, glabrous or very slightly pubescent in the axils of the veins beneath when mature, 2'-4' long, 4"-12" wide; styles slender, recurved-spreading; fruit maturing in the autumn of the second season; cup saucer-shaped, nearly flat on the base, 4"-6" broad; acorn subglobose, 4"-6" high.

In moist woods, Long Island, N. Y., to Florida, Kentucky, Missouri and Texas. Wood strong, rather soft and close-grained, reddish-brown; weight per cubic foot 46 lbs. April-May. Acorns ripe Sept.-Oct.

Quercus heterophylla Michx. f. Hist. Am. 2: 87, pl. 16, the Bartram oak, a hybrid of Q. Phellos with Q. rubra, intermediate in leaf and fruit characters between the two, occurs from Staten Island to North Carolina. Q. Phellos hybridizes also with Q. ilicifolia.