ellata_.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Sterile catkins 1-3 inches long, connecting
thread woolly; calyx 4-8 parted, lobes acute, densely pubescent, yellow;
stamens 4-8, _anthers with scattered hairs_: pistillate flowers single
or in clusters of 2, 3, or more, sessile or on a short stem; stigma red.

=Fruit.=--Maturing the first season, single and sessile, or nearly so,
or in clusters of 2, 3, or more, on short footstalks: cup top-shaped or
cup-shaped, 1/3-1/2 the length of the acorn, about 3/4 inch wide, thin;
scales smooth or sometimes hairy along the top, acutish or roundish,
slightly thickened at base: acorn 1/2-1 inch long, sweet.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy in New England; prefers a good,
well-drained, open soil; quite as slow-growing as the white oak; seldom
found in nurseries and difficult to transplant. Propagated from the
seed.

[Illustration: PLATE XXXVIII.--Quercus stellata.]

1. Winter buds.
2. Flowering branch.
3. Sterile flower, back view.
4. Sterile flower, front view.
5. Fertile flower.
6. Fruiting branch.

=Quercus macrocarpa, Michx.=

BUR OAK. OVER-CUP OAK. MOSSY-CUP OAK.

=Habitat and Range.=--Deep, rich soil; river valleys.

Nova Scotia to Manitoba, not attaining in this region the size of
the white oak, nor covering as large areas.

Maine,--known only in the valleys of the middle Penobscot (Orono)
and the Kennebec (Winslow, Waterville); Vermont,--lowlands
about Lake Champlain, especially in Addison county, not common;
Massachusetts,--valley of the Ware river (Worcester county), Stockbridge
and towns south along the Housatonic river (Berkshire county); Rhode
Island,--no station reported; Connecticut,--probably introduced in
central and eastern sections, possibly native near the northern border.

South to Pennsylvania and Tennessee; west to Montana, Nebraska,
Kansas, Indian territory, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A medium-sized tree, 40-60 feet high, with a trunk diameter of
1-3 feet; attaining great size in the Ohio and Mississippi river basins;
trunk erect, branches often changing direction, ascending, save the
lowest, which are often nearly horizontal; branchlets numerous, on the
lowest branches often declined or drooping; head wide-spreading, rounded
near the center, very rough in aspect; distinguished in summer by the
luxuriance of the dark-green foliage and in autumn by the size of its
acorns.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk and branches ash-gray, but darker th