Forest Trees of Illinois Part 3

THIS tree is also called ironwood and gets its common names from the quality of its wood and the hop-like fruit. It is a small, slender, generally round-topped tree, from 22 to 30 feet high and 7 to 10 inches in diameter. The top consists of long, slender branches, commonly drooped toward the ends. It is found throughout the State.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HOP HORNBEAM

Twig, one-half natural size. Leaf, one-third natural size.]

The _bark_ is mostly light brown or reddish-brown, and finely divided into thin scales by which the tree, after a little acquaintance, can be easily recognized.

The _leaves_ are simple, alternate, generally oblong with narrowed tips, sharply toothed along the margin, sometimes doubly toothed, from 2 to 3 inches long.

The _flowers_ are of two kinds on the same tree; the staminate in drooping catkins which form the previous summer, the pistillate, in erect catkins on the newly formed twigs. The _fruit_, which resembles that of common hop vine, consists of a branch of leafy bracts 1 to 2 inches long containing a number of flattened ribbed nutlets.

The _wood_ is strong, hard, durable, light brown to white, with thick pale sapwood. It is often used for fence posts, handles of tools, mallets and other small articles.

The white birch, _Betula papyrifera_ Marsh., of the North Woods is rare in Illinois. It is found in Jo Daviess and Carroll counties and along the sh.o.r.es of Lake Michigan. The white papery bark distinguishes it from all other trees and was used by the northern Indians for covering their canoes and for making baskets, bags and other useful and ornamental things.

+RIVER BIRCH+ _Betula nigra_ L.

THE river, or back birch, is at home, as the name implies, along water courses, and inhabits the deep, rich soils along the borders of the larger rivers of the State and in swamps which are sometimes inundated for weeks at a time.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RIVER BIRCH

Two-thirds natural size.]

The _bark_ provides a ready means of distinguis.h.i.+ng this tree. It varies from reddish-brown to cinnamon-red in color, and peels back in tough papery layers. These layers persist on the trunk, presenting a very ragged and quite distinctive appearance. Unlike the bark of our other birches, the thin papery layers are usually covered with a gray powder.

On older trunks, the bark on the main trunk becomes thick, deeply furrowed and of a dark reddish-brown color.

The _leaves_ are simple, alternate, 2 to 3 inches long, more or less oval in shape, with double-toothed edges. The upper surface is dark green and the lower a pale yellowish-green.

The _flowers_ are in catkins, the two kinds growing on the same tree.

The _fruit_ is cone-shaped about 1 inch long, and densely crowded with little winged nutlets that ripen from May to June.

The _wood_ is strong and fairly close-grained. It has been used to some extent in the manufacture of woodenware, in turnery and for wagon hubs.

The yellow birch, _Betula lutea_ Michx., one of the most valuable hardwood timber trees around the Great Lakes, is represented in Illinois by a few small trees in Lee and Lake counties. It may be known by its bark becoming silvery-gray as the trunk expands and breaking into strips curled at the edges. The wood is strong and hard, close-grained, light brown tinged with red. It is used for interior finish, furniture, woodenware and turnery. It is prized as firewood.

+BEECH+ _f.a.gus grandifolia_ Ehrh.

THE beech is found from Maine to Wisconsin south to the Gulf and Texas, growing along with maples, oaks and tulip trees. It occurs in the ravines of the southern Illinois counties up to Vermilion County. It is one of the most beautiful of all trees either in summer or winter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BEECH

One-half natural size.]

The _bark_ is, perhaps, the most distinctive characteristic, as it maintains an unbroken light gray surface throughout its life. So tempting is this smooth expanse to the owner of a jack-knife that the beech has been well designated the "initial tree."

The simple, oval _leaves_ are 3 to 4 inches long, pointed at the tip and coa.r.s.ely toothed along the margin. When mature, they are almost leathery in texture. The beech produces a dense shade. The _winter buds_ are long, slender and pointed.

The little, brown, three-sided beech-nuts are almost as well known as chestnuts. They form usually in pairs in a p.r.i.c.kly bur. The kernel is sweet and edible, but so small as to offer insufficient reward for the pains of biting open the thin-sh.e.l.led husk.

The _wood_ of the beech is very hard, strong, and tough, though it will not last long on exposure to weather or in the soil. It is used to some extent for furniture, flooring, carpenter's tools, and novelty wares and extensively in southern Illinois for railroad ties and car stock.

The American chestnut, _Castanea dentata_ Borkh., extends its range from Maine to Michigan, and southward to Delaware and Tennessee. There is a stand of chestnuts in Pulaski County and some trees have been planted in the southern part of the State. They are easily recognized by their alternate simple, broadly lanceolate coa.r.s.ely toothed leaves, and their p.r.i.c.kly burs about 2 inches in diameter containing 1-3 nuts.

A KEY TO THE OAKS OF ILLINOIS

A. Leaves without bristle tips; bark gray; acorns maturing at the end of 1 season; white oaks.

B. Leaves lobed.

C. Acorn-cup not enclosing the acorn.

D. Acorn-cup shallow, warted Q. alba DD. Acorn-cup covering 1/2 of the acorn Q. stellata CC. Acorn-cup enclosing the acorn.

D. Acorn-cup not fringed Q. lyrata DD. Acorn-cup fringed Q. macrocarpa BB. Leaves not lobed, coa.r.s.ely toothed.

C. Acorn-stalked.

D. Acorn-stalks longer than petioles Q. bicolor DD. Acorn-stalks short E. Acorn-cup flat-bottomed; bark like that of white oak Q. prinus EE. Acorn-cup deep; bark like that of red oak Q. montana CC. Acorns sessile, cup deep Q. muhlenbergii

AA. Leaves with bristle tips; bark dark; acorns mature at the end of two seasons; black and red oaks.

B. Leaves lobed.

C. Deeply lobed.

D. Leaves deep green on both sides.

E. Acorn-cup broad and shallow a. Acorn large Q. rubra aa. Acorn small b. Acorn ovoid Q. shumardii bb. Acorn globose Q. pal.u.s.tris EE. Acorn-cup deep a. Cup-scales loosely imbricated winter buds large and hairy Q. velutina aa. Cup-scales tightly appressed, winter buds small and smooth b. Acorn small Q. ellipsoidalis bb. Acorn large Q. coccinea DD. Leaves pale green beneath Q. falcata CC. Leaves shallowly lobed, winter buds rusty-hairy Q. marilandica BB. Leaves entire.

C. Leaves hairy beneath; acorn sessile Q. imbricaria CC. Leaves not hairy; acorn stalked Q. ph.e.l.los

+WHITE OAK+ _Quercus alba_ L.

WITHIN its natural range, which includes practically the entire eastern half of the United States, the white oak is one of the most important timber trees. It commonly reaches a height of 60 to 100 feet and a diameter of 2 to 3 feet; sometimes it becomes much larger. It is found in a wide variety of upland soils. When grown in a dense stand it has a straight continuous trunk, free of side branches for over half its height. In the open, however, the tree develops a broad crown with far-reaching limbs. Well-grown specimens are strikingly beautiful.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WHITE OAK

Twig, one-third natural size. Leaf, one-quarter natural size.]

The _leaves_ are alternate, simple 5 to 9 inches long and about half as broad. They are deeply divided into 5 to 9 rounded, finger-like lobes.

The young leaves are a soft silvery-gray or yellow or red while unfolding, becoming later bright green above and much paler below. The _flowers_ appear with the leaves, the staminate are in hairy catkins 2-3 inches long, the pistillate are sessile in axils of the leaves.

The _fruit_ is an acorn maturing the first year. The nut is 3/4 to 1 inch long, light brown, about one-quarter enclosed in the warty cup. It is relished by hogs and other livestock. The _bark_ is thin, light ashy-gray and covered with loose scales or broad plates.

The _wood_ is useful and valuable. It is heavy, strong, hard, tough, close-grained, durable, and light brown in color. The uses are many, including construction, s.h.i.+pbuilding, tight cooperage, furniture, wagons, implements, interior finish, flooring, and fuel. Notwithstanding its rather slow growth, white oak is valuable for forest, highway and ornamental planting.

The overcup oak, _Quercus lyrata_ Walt., is similar to the white oak, but may be distinguished by the nearly spherical cup which nearly covers the somewhat flattened acorn. This oak occurs in the river bottoms in southern Illinois.

+BUR OAK+ _Quercus macrocarpa_ Michx.

THE bur oak, which occurs throughout the State takes its name from the fringe around the cup of the acorn. It usually has a broad top of heavy spreading branches and a relatively short body. It is one of the largest trees in the State. In maturity, it attains a diameter of 5 feet or more and a height of over 80 feet. The _bark_ is light gray and is usually broken up into small narrow flakes. The bur oak does not often form a part of the forest stand, as do some other oaks, but occurs generally singly in open stands and in fields. It requires a moist but well-drained soil.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUR OAK