BEAR OAK; SCRUB OAK (Quercus ?lama, Sag.). 10 to 20 feet. Scrubby, round-topped, many-branched tree, in thick ets; trunks 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Bark smooth, brown, with scaly surface. Wood used for fuel. Leaves obovate, wedge-shaped at base, with 3 large lobes near apex, holly-like, spiny tips on lobes; thick, firm, dark green above, tomentose, silvery below, e to 5 inches long. Scarlet in autumn. Acorns
abundant, small, half covered with the fringed red-brown cups. Eaten by bears. Dist.: Dry, sandy barrens and ridges, Maine to Virginia and Kentucky.