Studies of trees in winter

by Annie Oakes Huntington

CHESTNUT
Castanea dentata

Page [82]

1. Red Oak. 2. Scarlet Oak. 3. Black Oak. 4. Pin Oak.
5. Swamp White Oak. 6. White Oak. 7. Mossy-cup Oak.
8. Post Oak. 9. Chestnut Oak.

The generic name was taken from Castanea, a town in Thessaly, and the specific name, dentata (having teeth), refers to the serrations of the leaf. The chestnut is found throughout the Northeastern States.

Oaks Quercus

There are in all nearly three hundred different oaks which have been described by botanists, and fifty of these are found in North America, exclusive of Mexico. The oaks are large trees of temperate climates, and both in Europe and America few trees have the same varied and general usefulness. The extraordinary strength in the great, horizontal branches, their breadth and lateral sweep, and the rugged boldness of the trunk have long associated the oak with all that stands for strength, duration, and unswerving vitality. An oak never seems out of place; no matter whether we find it growing in unbroken forests, on a country estate, in a little garden, or by the roadside, it always harmonizes with its surroundings and adds to the composition of the landscape.

Oaks are divided into two groups, the white oaks and the black oaks. In New England there are eleven native oaks, six white oaks and five black. The white oak, the swamp white, the mossy cup, the chestnut, the dwarf chestnut, and the post oak belong to the first group, and the black oak, the red, the scarlet, the pin, and the bear or scrub oak belong to the second group.

The oak is distinguished from all other trees by its acorn.

The general characteristics of the oaks in winter are as follows:—