File:Bulletin (Pennsylvania Department of Forestry), no. 11 (1901) (20315977199).jpg

Title: Bulletin (Pennsylvania Department of Forestry), no. 11
Identifier: bulletinpennsylv11pennx (find matches)
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Pennsylvania. Dept. of Forestry
Subjects: Forests and forestry
Publisher: Harrisburg, Pa. : The Department : WM. Stanley Ray, state printer of Pennsylvania
Contributing Library: Penn State University
Digitizing Sponsor: Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation

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PLATE LXIV. SCARLET OAK 1. Flowi'iing branch with iinmaturu leaves, (s) staminate bh>ssoms, (p) pistillate blossoms, (i) immature acorns, x i. 2. Branch with mature leaves, immature and mature acorns, x J. H. An aconi, x i. 4. An acorn cup, x i- 5. Terminal section of a winter twig, ^t J. ,*u i n .. „„^ ♦»« c,n,ri,fiv G Section of a winter twig, showing lenticels, leaf-scars with bundle-scars, and two hhahUy angular buds covered with numerous overlapping scales, enlarge shading, only persist for many years. Trunk very tapering, crown shallow and narrow. BARK—On old trunks Intermediate between the Red Oak and the Black Oak. It Is broken up into rough. Irregular, deep Assures which separate ridges not so rough as those of the lUack Oak and not so flat-topped as those of the Red Oak. Inner bark red to gray. On younger limbs thin, smooth, light brown. See Fig. 99. TWIGS—Slender, smooth, reddish or grayish-brown, covered with numerous, small, pale len- ticels; pith star-shaped. BUDS—Alternate, broadly ovate, narrowed to a blunt apex, J-J of an Inch long, dark reddish- broAvn, covered with a pale wool from the middle to the apex, LEAVES—Alternate, simple, broadly oval to obovate, 3-6 Inches long, 2)-6 inches wide, 5-9 lobed, lobes bristle-pointed and separated by deep round-based sinuses extending at least i of the distance to the midrib. In autumn brilliantly scarlet before falling. LEAF-SCABS—See "Leaf-Scars" under White Oak, page 138. FLOWEBS—^Appear about May when leaves are i developed. Staminate flowers are borne in Blender pubescent aments 3-4 inches long. Pistillate on short pubescent stalks, reddish In color, with reflexed bright red stigmas. FBXTIT—An acorn, maturing at the end of the second season, sessile or short-stalked, solitary or paired. Nut ovoid, 2/5-4/5 of an inch long, reddish brown, occasionally striate. Cup thin, covering about i of the nut, narrowed at base, with closely imbricated, sharp-pointed, slightly downy scales often forming a fringe at the cup margin which is closely appressed to the nut. WOOD—Ring-porous; with prominent medullary rays; strong, heavy, coarse Weighs 46 lbs per cubic foot. The wood has little commercial value as timber. in texture. DISTIKOniSHIKO CHARACTERISTICS—The Scarlet Oak is one of the commonest of the Black Oak group and can readily be distinguished from the Black Oak by its smoother bark ridges on the trunk. Its paler inner bark. Its deeper round-based leaf-sinuses, its smooth, close- fitting scales of the acorn-cup, and its stouter, often smaller, less angular buds which are covered with pale wool only from the middle to the apex while the Black Oak is distinctly woolly over the entire bud. It can be distinguished from the Red Oak by its smaller and more deeply lobed leaves, its less flat-topped ridges of the bark, its smaller and deeper-cupped acorns, and its buds which are covered with a iiale wool from the middle to the apex while those of the Red Oak are free from wool. The persistent, stunted, often drooping and dead lateral branches are also peculiar to this tree. This characteristic is common to trees on the border of bodies of water. RANGE—Maine to Minnesota, south to North Carolina and Nebraska. DISTRIBUTION IN PENNSYLVANIA—Common in the eastern, central, and southern parts Sparse in western part. Rare in northern part. HABITAT—Prefers dry sandy soil. fVequently met upon light stony or sandy uplands, but the best individuals occur on good soil at the base of the slope where it is often found bordering hollows filled with water during spring. IMPORTANCE OF THE SPECIES—The wood of the Scariet Oak is of little commercial Im- portance as compared with some of the other oaks. It is sold on the market as Red Oak but Is inferior in quality to the latter. This tree Is often attacked by fungi when it has reached medium size, which causes the wood to rot and often results In wind-break in the forest. On account of its fast growth, and beautiful foliage with its special autumnal coloration, it Is regarded as one of the most desirable trees for street or i>ark planting.

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