Index    Handbook of the Trees of New England by Lorin Low Dame, Henry Brooks

Quercus Prinus, L. Chestnut Oak. Rock Chestnut Oak.

Habitat and Range.—Woods, rocky banks, hill slopes.

Maine,—Saco river and Mt. Agamenticus, near the southern coast (York county); New Hampshire,—belts or patches in the eastern part of the state and along the southern border, Hinsdale, Winchester, Brookline, Manchester, Hudson; Vermont,—western part of the state throughout, not common; abundant at Smoke mountain at an altitude of 1300 feet, and along the western flank of the Green mountains, at least in Addison county; Massachusetts,—eastern sections, Sterling, Lancaster, Russell, Middleboro, rare in Medford and Sudbury, frequent on the Blue hills; Rhode Island,—locally common; Connecticut,—common.

Habit.—A small or medium-sized tree, 25-50 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 1-2½ feet, assuming noble proportions southward, often reaching a height of 75-100 feet and trunk diameter of 5-6 feet; trunk tall, straight, continuous to the top of the tree, scarcely tapering to the point of ramification, surmounted by a spacious, open head.

Bark.—Bark of trunk and large branches deep gray to dark brown or blackish, in firm, broad, continuous ridges, with small, close surface scales; bark of young trees and of branchlets smooth, brown, and more or less lustrous; season's shoots light brown.

Winter Buds and Leaves.—Buds ovate to cylindrical, mostly acute, brownish. Leaves simple, alternate, 5-8 inches long, 2-5 inches wide, dark green and smooth above, paler and more or less downy beneath; outline obovate to oval, undulate-crenate; apex blunt-pointed; base wedge-shaped, obtuse or slightly rounded, often unequal-sided; veins straight, parallel, prominent beneath; leafstalk ½-1½ inches long; stipules linear, soon falling.

Inflorescence.—May. Sterile catkins 2-3 inches long; calyx 5-9-parted, yellow, hairy; divisions oblong, densely pubescent; stamens 5-9; anthers yellow, glabrous: pistillate flowers with hairy scales and dark red stigmas.

Fruit.—Seldom abundant, maturing the first season, variable in size, on stems usually equal to or shorter than the leaf-stems: cup thin, hemispheric or somewhat top-shaped, deep; scales small, knobby-thickened at the base: acorns ¾-1½ inches long, ovoid-conical, sweet.

Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England; prefers a light gravelly or stony soil; rapid-growing and free from disease; more easily and safely transplanted than most oaks; occasionally offered by nurserymen, who propagate it from the seed. Its vigorous, clean habit of growth and handsome foliage should give it a place in landscape gardening and street use.

Plate XLI.—Quercus Prinus.