Trunk massive. Bark deep gray or sepia (the inner bark bright orange yellow) very rough and thick, broken into short, thick, corky, cross scored ridges. Twigs reddish mottled with gray, stout. Leaves dull whitish olive beneath, turning dull brownish or orange or red in autumn. Range: s. and w. N. E. to w. Ont. and Minn., s. to n. Fla., e. Tex., and e. Kans. One of the finest and largest of all our oaks, 50-160 ft. tall. The bark is rich in tannin and the yellow dye, quercitron is derived from the inner bark. CALIFORNIA BLACK OAK (Quercus Kelloggii) differs in having downy winter-buds and leaves without tufts in the axils of the veins. Acorn only ½-¾ in. long. A very fine, wide-spreading, ornamental tree. Ore. to Calif. It may reach 100 ft. high, and has a broadly round topped head.
Water Oak
WATER OAK
(Quercus nigra)
Shape, with a conical head; 30-80 ft. tall. Bark smooth above but on old trunks brownish gray, rough ridged. Leaves shining on both sides, but paler beneath, with hair tufts in the axils of the veins, often evergreen. Range: Swamps and bottomlands, Gulf States n. in the Mississippi basin to Ky., around the coast to Del. BLACK JACK OAK (Quercus marilandica) is a small, slim-stemmed tree with rough black bark and thick, short, contorted branches; the leaves are broad, thick, lustrous olive green above, rusty hairy beneath, wedge-shaped at base, very broad near the tip by reason of the big obtuse lobes, middle lobe just a wedge-shaped point. Acorn small, globular, half covered by the thick scaled cup. Foliage yellow russet in fall. A characteristic rather stunted tree of uplands. S. States and Mississippi Valley and s. Gt. Lakes region and up the coast to Long Island.
Broad Leaved Cucumber Tree
BROAD LEAVED CUCUMBER TREE
(Magnolia acuminata)
Shape oblong, 50-90 ft. tall. Bark grayish brown, broken into small thin scales, the ridges narrow and braiding. Buds silky. Leaves on the undersides paler and slightly downy; 6-10 in. long. Flowers about 2 in. long, tulip-shaped, slightly fragrant, blooming in late May. Range: Chiefly the Appalachians, w. to s. Ill. and Ark., n. to w. N. Y., and n. shore of L. Erie, s. to s. Ala. This handsome tree is chiefly valued as an ornamental but the wood is used occasionally where tensile strength is not required. BROAD LEAVED UMBRELLA TREE (Magnolia tripetala) has thin leaves 18-20 in. long, clustered at the ends of the stout greenish brown twigs, making an umbrella-like effect. Flowers creamy, ill-smelling, appearing in May. A small tree with smooth gray bark with blister-spots. N. C. to Ark. and especially along the Appalachians from Ala. to Pa.
