Fig. 79. Typical Leaf of the White Oak
In the second class are the red, scarlet, black, pin, laurel, and willow oaks.
The difference in the leaves of these trees is so great that we need never mistake one for the other. Notice the cut of the red oak and compare it with that of the white oak. The latter has rounded lobes, while the red-oak leaf has sharp points and the fingers of the leaf are indented again with smaller teeth.
The different trees in the white-oak family all have leaves with rounded lobes, and most of those in the red-oak group have pointed ones, yet there is a difference between members of the same family, just as among human beings.
We can tell at a glance whether a man is a negro, a Chinaman, or a white man. If a white man, he may be a Frenchman or an American; and again, if an American, he may belong to the Jones family. But all the members of the Jones family do not look alike and we know one from another.
Fig. 80. Leaf of the Post Oak
This is true of trees. No two are alike, and we can tell from observation whether a tree is an evergreen or a broad-leaved tree, whether it belongs to the white-oak group; and after studying trees a little we can tell whether a member of this group is a white oak, a post oak, or a mossy-cup oak.
Compare the post-oak leaf ([Fig. 80]) with that of the white oak. There is not a great difference in form, but the post-oak leaf is thick, leathery, and dark green, while the white oak has a beautiful thin, light green leaf, which turns red in the fall.