FAGACEAE
Red Oak
Quercus rubra L.
HABIT.—A large tree 70-80 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 2-4 feet; forming a broad, rounded crown of a few large, wide-spreading branches and slender branchlets.
LEAVES.—Alternate, simple, 5-9 inches long, 4-6 inches broad; oval to obovate; 5-11-lobed with coarse-toothed, bristle-tipped lobes tapering from broad bases and wide, oblique, rounded sinuses; thin and firm; dull dark green above, paler beneath; petioles stout, 1-2 inches long.
FLOWERS.—April-May, when the leaves are half grown; monoecious; the staminate in hairy catkins 4-5 inches long; the pistillate on short, glabrous peduncles; calyx 4-5-lobed, greenish; corolla 0; stamens 4-5, with yellow anthers; stigmas long, spreading, bright green.
FRUIT.—Autumn of second season; sessile or short-stalked acorns; cup shallow, saucer-shaped, inclosing only the base of the nut; scales closely appressed, more or less glossy, puberulous, bright red-brown; nut oblong-ovoid with a broad base, about 1 inch long, red-brown; kernel white, very bitter.
WINTER-BUDS.—Terminal bud 1/4 inch long, ovoid, acute, light brown, smooth.
BARK.—Twigs lustrous, green, becoming reddish, finally dark brown; young trunks smooth, gray-brown; old trunks darker, shallowly fissured into thin, firm, broad ridges; inner bark light red, not bitter.