WHITE OAK
Twig, one-third natural size. Leaf, one-quarter natural size.
The leaves are alternate, simple 5 to 9 inches long and about half as broad. They are deeply divided into 5 to 9 rounded, finger-like lobes. The young leaves are a soft silvery-gray or yellow or red while unfolding, becoming later bright green above and much paler below. The flowers appear with the leaves, the staminate are in hairy catkins 2-3 inches long, the pistillate are sessile in axils of the leaves.
The fruit is an acorn maturing the first year. The nut is ¾ to 1 inch long, light brown, about one-quarter enclosed in the warty cup. It is relished by hogs and other livestock. The bark is thin, light ashy-gray and covered with loose scales or broad plates.
The wood is useful and valuable. It is heavy, strong, hard, tough, close-grained, durable, and light brown in color. The uses are many, including construction, shipbuilding, tight cooperage, furniture, wagons, implements, interior finish, flooring, and fuel. Notwithstanding its rather slow growth, white oak is valuable for forest, highway and ornamental planting.
The overcup oak, Quercus lyrata Walt., is similar to the white oak, but may be distinguished by the nearly spherical cup which nearly covers the somewhat flattened acorn. This oak occurs in the river bottoms in southern Illinois.
BUR OAK Quercus macrocarpa Michx.
THE bur oak, which occurs throughout the State takes its name from the fringe around the cup of the acorn. It usually has a broad top of heavy spreading branches and a relatively short body. It is one of the largest trees in the State. In maturity, it attains a diameter of 5 feet or more and a height of over 80 feet. The bark is light gray and is usually broken up into small narrow flakes. The bur oak does not often form a part of the forest stand, as do some other oaks, but occurs generally singly in open stands and in fields. It requires a moist but well-drained soil.