SCARLET OAK (Quercus coceinea, Muench.). 70 to 160 feet. Slender, symmetrical tree, with graceful, curving branches above tapering trunk, forming round head. Bark brown, or gray, rough, scaly, shallowly fissured; inner layers red; twigs green, scurfy, becoming smooth red. Wood reddish brown, coarse, heavy, of rapid growth, used for lumber, classed with the preceding species. Leaves thin, shiny, oval or obovate, cleft by deep, rounded sinuses into 5 to 7 spreading, bristly, subdivided lobes; length 3 to 6 inches. Upper surface
smooth, shining; lower paler, smooth, or tufted with hairs on veins. Autumn color, scarlet. Petioles slender. Flowers red, pubescent, delicate, of the usual oak types. Acorns stalked, solitary or in pairs, less than an inch long, taper-pointed, or rounded in trim, close-scaled cup; kernel white, bitter. Dist.: Dry, rich soil, Maine to Florida; west to Minnesota, Nebraska. and Missouri. Favorite shade and ornamental oak.