land oaks, 50-85 feet high, with a
diameter of 2-6 feet above the swell of the roots; occasionally
attaining greater dimensions; trunk usually continuous to the top of the
tree, often heavily buttressed; point of branching higher than in the
white oak; branches large, less contorted, and rising at a sharper
angle, the lower sometimes horizontal; branchlets rather slender; head
extremely variable, in old trees with ample space for growth, open,
well-proportioned, and imposing; sometimes oblong in outline, wider near
the top, and sometimes symmetrically rounded, not so broad, however, as
the head of the white oak; conspicuous in summer by its bright green,
abundant foliage, which turns to dull purplish-red in autumn.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk and lower parts of branches in old trees dark
gray, firmly, coarsely, and rather regularly ridged, smooth elsewhere;
in young trees greenish mottled gray, smooth throughout; season's shoots
at first green, taking a reddish tinge in autumn, marked with pale,
scattered dots.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds ovate, conical, sharp-pointed. Leaves
simple, alternate, 4-8 inches long, 3-5 inches broad, bright green
above, paler beneath, dull brown in autumn; outline oval or obovate,
sometimes scarcely distinguishable by the character of its lobing from
_Q. tinctoria_; in the typical form, lobes broadly triangular or oblong,
with parallel sides bristle-pointed; leafstalks short; stipules linear,
soon falling.

=Inflorescence.=--Earliest of the oaks, appearing in late April or early
May, when the leaves are half-grown; sterile catkins 3-5 inches long;
calyx mostly 4-lobed; lobes rounded; stamens mostly 4; anthers yellow:
pistillate flowers short-stemmed; calyx lobes mostly 3 or 4; stigmas
long, spreading.

=Fruit.=--Maturing in the second year, single or in pairs, sessile or
short-stalked: cup sometimes turbinate, usually saucer-shaped with a
flat or rounded base, often contracted at the opening and surmounted by
a kind of border; scales closely imbricated, reddish-brown, more or less
downy, somewhat glossy, triangular-acute to obtuse, pubescent: acorn
nearly cylindrical or ovoid, tapering to a broad, rounded top.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows in all
well-drained soils, but prefers a rich, moist loam; more readily
obtainable than most of our oaks; in common with other trees of the
genus, nursery trees must be transplanted frequently to be moved with
safety;