Quercus macrocarpa, Michx.

Form.—Height 40-75 feet, diameter 2-4 feet; trunk usually short, bearing a rounded crown.

Leaves.—Alternate, simple, 6-12 inches long, wedge-shaped at the base, usually crenate lobed toward the apex with deep sinuses and rounded lobes in the middle; thick and firm, dark green and glossy above, pale pubescence beneath.

Flowers.—Similar to the other annual oaks, before described.

Fruit.—Matures in autumn of first season; very large acorn with a deep cup heavily fringed on the rim; nut ovoid, 1-1½ inches long, brown, pubescent, about one-third enclosed in the cup.

Bark.—Deeply furrowed and similar to that of White Oak; corky on the twigs.

Wood.—Heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, durable, brownish, with thin sapwood.

Range.—Nova Scotia and Manitoba south to West Virginia and west to Kansas and Texas.

Distribution in West Virginia.—Rare. Observed in the following localities: Hardy County, between Romney and Moorefield; Grant County, several trees on Lunice Creek near Petersburg; Morgan County, near Great Cacapon station. Reported from Tyler County.

Habitat.—Usually on rich soils near streams.

Notes.—This is a very large and valuable oak in Kansas and other states but is too rare to merit much attention in West Virginia. The beautifully-lobed leaves and large acorns will not fail to interest the student of trees.