Maine,—valley of the Androscoggin, southward; New Hampshire and Vermont,—not authoritatively reported by recent observers; Massachusetts,—more common in the eastern than western sections, sometimes covering considerable areas; Rhode Island and Connecticut,—common.
South to the middle states and along the mountains to North Carolina and Tennessee; reported from Florida; west to Minnesota, Nebraska, and Missouri.
Habit.—A medium-sized tree, 30-50 feet high and 1-3 feet in trunk diameter; attaining greater dimensions southward; trunk straight and tapering, branches regular, long, comparatively slender, not contorted, the lower nearly horizontal, often declined at the ends; branchlets slender; head open, narrow-oblong or rounded, graceful; foliage deeply cut, shining green in summer and flaming scarlet in autumn; the most brilliant and most elegant of the New England oaks.
Bark.—Trunk in old trees dark gray, roughly and firmly ridged; inner bark red; young trees and branches smoothish, often marked with dull red seams and more or less mottled with gray.
Winter Buds and Leaves.—Buds small, reddish-brown, ovate to oval, acutish, partially hidden by enlarged base of petiole. Leaves simple, alternate, extremely variable, more commonly 3-6 inches long, two-thirds as wide, bright green and shining above, paler beneath, smooth on both sides but often with a tufted pubescence on the axils beneath, turning scarlet in autumn, deeply lobed, the rounded sinuses sometimes reaching nearly to the midrib; lobes 5-9, rather slender and set at varying angles, sparingly toothed and bristly tipped; apex acute; base truncate to acute; leafstalk 1-1½ inches long, slender, swollen at base.
Inflorescence.—Early in May. Appearing when the leaves are half grown; sterile catkins 2-4 inches long; calyx most commonly 4-parted; pubescent; stamens commonly 4, exserted; anthers yellow, glabrous: pistillate flowers red; stigmas long, spreading, reflexed.
Fruit.—Maturing in the autumn of the second year, single or in twos or threes, sessile or on rather short footstalks: cup top-shaped or cup-shaped, about half the length of the acorn, occasionally nearly enclosing it, smooth, more or less polished, thin-edged; scales closely appressed, firm, elongated, triangular, sides sometimes rounded, homogeneous in the same plant: acorn ½-¾ inch long, variable in shape, oftenest oval to oblong: kernel white within; less bitter than kernel of the black oak.
Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England; grows in any light, well-drained soil, but prefers a fertile loam. Occasionally offered by nurserymen, but as it is disposed to make unsymmetrical young trees it is not grown in quantity, and it is not desirable for streets. Its rapid growth, hardiness, beauty of summer foliage, and its brilliant colors in autumn make it desirable in ornamental plantations. Propagated from the seed.
