The Black Jack Oak.
Quercus nigra, Willd. Sp. Pl. vol. iv. p. 442. Pursh, Flor. Amer. Sept. vol. ii. p. 629.
Quercus ferruginea, Mich. Arbr. Forest. vol. i. p. 92. pl. 18. Monœcia polyandria, Linn. Amentaceæ, Juss.
Leaves coriaceous, dilated at the end and three-lobed, when young mucronate, smooth above, covered with a rust-like powder beneath, the cupule turbinate, its scales obtuse and scarious, the acorn shortly ovate. This tree forms the principal growth of the open barrens of Kentucky, and is also met with in all our Southern Districts. It is of small height, and extremely crooked in its growth, so as to be of little service, excepting as fire-wood; but it bears abundantly, producing fine mast for hogs.