C. pumila grows in dry woods, sandy ridges, and on borders of swamps from Florida to East Texas north to Ark., Tenn., Pa., and N. J. It may grow into a small tree 10 to 30 feet high and may reach 50 feet. If burned back by fires, it may send out stolons or sprouts and form dense shrubby growths. BRANCHLETS [pubescent], gradually changing to a lustrous olive-green or orange-brown, then darker. The LEAVES are 4 to 6 inches long, 1½ to 2 inches wide, [oblong] to [ovate] and [acute], the margin coarsely toothed with slender, rigid, spreading or incurved teeth. Base of leaf unequal, either rounded or wedge-shaped. Leaf at first [tomentose] above and below, later yellow-green above and whitish-downy below. [Petiole] short, stout, and flattened on the upper side. [FRUIT] a single brown, [ovoid], pointed, plump, sweet, edible [nut], ¾ to 1 inch long, encased in a bur covered with erect, crowded spines approximately ¾ inch long. WOOD light, hard, strong, coarse-grained; used for fence posts and railway ties. Of little economic importance because of its relative scarcity. C. pumila is a nut-producing tree of potential commercial importance.
ALLEGHENY CHINKAPIN ([Fruit], leaves and twig, two-thirds natural size)
ASHE CHINKAPIN (C. pumila var. ashei Sudw.) is a small tree of dry sandy soils. Leaves are felt-like below. This variety is distinguished by its bur which has scattered, forked, and horizontally [divergent] bristles. The surface of the bur has smooth areas free of bristles.
A variation of chinkapin with leaves 3 to 4 inches long and lustrous below is frequently described as FLORIDA CHINKAPIN (C. alnifolia var. floridana Sarg.)
SHUMARD OAK (Spotted Oak)
Quercus shumardii Buckl.
This species, one of the largest Southern red oaks, was named for Benjamin F. Shumard, an early state geologist of Texas. SHUMARD OAK is found in the eastern part of the state on well-drained alluvial soils and on fertile slopes. It forms a tall, wide-spreading, rather open head. The [BARK] is dark, rough, divided into ridges, and usually from 1 to 1½ inches thick. It seldom comprises the principal species of any forest stands, but more often occurs as individual trees. It attains a diameter of more than 3 feet and a height of more than 100 feet, but is usually smaller.
Winter BUDS covered with gray, smooth [scales], while the buds of Texas oak ([page 44]) are covered with red, densely [pubescent] scales.
SHUMARD OAK (Twig and leaf, one-half natural size; [fruit], natural size)