SPANISH OAK
Quercus falcata, Michx.
Form.—Height 60-80 feet, diameter 2-3 feet; crown round-topped.
Leaves.—Alternate, simple, 6-7 inches long; variable in shape, with 3-7 toothed bristle pointed lobes, terminal lobes often elongated and falcate, dark green and lustrous above, paler and downy beneath.
Flowers.—April-May, with the leaves; monoecious; staminate flowers in long catkins, the pistillate on short hairy stalks.
Fruit.—Acorns mature the second autumn after flowering; cup hemispheric, ½-¾ inch across, reddish-brown inside and with reddish, pale, pubescent scales; nut ½ inch long, ovoid, pale orange-brown.
Bark.—On trunks with shallow fissures and brownish scaly ridges.
Wood.—Hard, strong, not durable, coarse-grained, reddish with light sapwood.
Range.—New Jersey to Florida and west to Missouri and Texas.
Distribution in West Virginia.—Confined, as far as known, to a few trees on the north side of Great Kanawha River near Charleston.