Part 2

The _bark_ differs from that of the black walnut in being light gray on branches and on the trunk of small trees, becoming darker on large trees. This tree may also be distinguished from black walnut by the velvet collars just above the scars left by last year's leaves. The twigs have chocolate-brown chambered pith and bear obliquely blunt winter buds somewhat flattened, brownish and hairy.

The compound _leaves_ are 15 to 30 inches long, each with 11 to 17 sharp-pointed, oblong, finely toothed leaflets 2 to 3 inches long.

The staminate and pistillate _flowers_ are on the same tree, the former in long yellowish-green drooping catkins and the latter are short with red-fringed stigmas.

The _fruit_ is a nut enclosed in an oblong, somewhat pointed, yellowish-green husk, about 2 inches long, which is covered with short, rusty, clammy, sticky hairs. The nut has a rough, grooved shell and an oily, edible kernel.

The _wood_ is light, soft, not strong, coarse-grained, light brown, and takes a good polish. It is used for interior finish of houses and for furniture. A yellow or orange dye can be made from the husks of the nuts.

A KEY TO THE ILLINOIS HICKORIES

A. Bud scales opposite; appearing somewhat grooved lengthwise; leaflets usually lanceolate, generally curved backwards; nut-husks usually winged; nut thin-shelled. B. Leaflets 5-9; leaves 6-10 inches long, winter buds bright yellow; nut gray globose, meat bitter C. cordiformis BB. Leaflets 7-13; leaves 9-13 inches long, winter buds dark brown, nut brown, pear-shaped, meat bitter C. aquatica BBB. Leaflets 9-17; leaves 12-20 inches long, winter buds yellow, nut elongated, meat sweet C. illinoensis

AA. Bud scales not in pairs; more than 6; leaflets not recurved; nut husks usually not winged; nut thick-shelled. B. Buds large; twigs stout; nut angled; kernel sweet. C. Leaflets 5; leaves 8-14 inches long, nut whitish, bark shaggy C. ovata CC. Leaflets 7-9; leaves 15-20 inches long, nut reddish-brown C. laciniosa CCC. Leaflets 7-9; leaves 8-12 inches long, hairy C. tomentosa BB. Buds small; twigs slender; nut angled. C. Leaflets usually 5; leaves 8-12 inches long; fruit pear-shaped; kernel astringent C. glabra CC. Leaflets usually 7; leaves 8-10 inches long; fruit ovoid; shell ridged, thin; kernel sweet C. ovalis CCC. Leaflets usually 7; leaves 10-12 inches long; shell thin, conspicuously veined C. buckleyi

+BITTERNUT HICKORY+ _Carya cordiformis_ K. Koch

THE bitternut hickory is a tall slender tree with broadly pyramidal crown, attaining a height of 100 feet and a diameter of 2 to 3 feet. It is found along stream banks and on moist soil, and it is well known by its roundish bitter nuts.

The _bark_ on the trunk is granite-gray, faintly tinged with yellow and smoother than in most of the hickories, yet broken into thin plate-like scales. The _winter buds_ are compressed, scurfy, and of a bright yellow color.

The _leaves_ are alternate, compound, from 6 to 10 inches long, and composed of from 7 to 11 leaflets. The individual leaflets are smaller and more slender than those of the other hickories.

The _flowers_ are of two kinds on the same tree; the staminate in long pendulous green catkins, the pistillate in 2 to 5 flowered spikes, 1/2 inch long, brown-hairy. The _fruit_ is about 1 inch long and thin-husked, while the nut is usually thin-shelled and brittle, and the kernel very bitter.

The _wood_ is hard, strong and heavy, reddish-brown in color. From this last fact it gets its local name of red hickory. It is said to be somewhat inferior to the other hickories, but is used for the same purposes.

+PECAN+ _Carya illinoensis_ (Wang.) K. Koch

(_Carya pecan_ (Marsh.) E. & G.)

THE pecan is a river-bottom tree found in southern Illinois extending its range northward to Adams, Peoria, Fayette and Lawrence counties. The tree is the largest of the hickories, attaining heights of over 100 feet and, when in the open, forming a large rounded top of symmetrical shape. It makes an excellent shade tree and is also planted in orchards for its nuts. The outer _bark_ is rough, hard, tight, but broken into scales; on the limbs, it is smooth at first but later tends to scale or divide as the bark grows old.

The _leaves_ resemble those of the other hickories and the black walnut. They are made up of 9 to 17 leaflets, each oblong, toothed and long-pointed, and 4 to 8 inches long by about 2 inches wide.

The _flowers_ appear in early spring and hang in tassels from 2 to 3 inches long. The _fruit_ is a nut, 4-winged or angled, pointed from 1 to 2 inches long, and one-half to 1 inch in diameter, borne in a husk which divides along its grooved seams when the nut ripens in the fall. The nuts, which vary in size and in the thickness of the shell, have been greatly improved by selection and cultivation and are sold on the market in large quantities.

The _wood_ is strong, tough, heavy and hard and is used occasionally in making handles, parts for vehicles, for fuel and for veneers.

The water hickory, _Carya aquatica_ Nutt., is a smaller tree, found in swamps in southern Illinois, with leaves made up of 7 to 13 leaflets; the nut is thin-shelled, angular and bitter.

+SHAG-BARK HICKORY+ _Carya ovata_ K. Koch

THE shag-bark hickory is well known for its sweet and delicious nuts. It is a large commercial tree, averaging 60 to 100 feet high and 1 to 2 feet in diameter. It thrives best on rich, damp soil and is common along streams, on rich uplands, and on moist hillsides throughout the State.

The _bark_ of the trunk is rougher than other hickories, light gray and separating into thick plates which are only slightly attached to the tree. The terminal _winter buds_ are egg-shaped, the outer bud-scales having narrow tips.

The _leaves_ are alternate, compound, from 8 to 15 inches long, and composed of 5, rarely 7 obovate to ovate leaflets. The twigs are smooth or clothed with short hairs.

The _fruit_ is borne singly or in pairs and is globular. The husk is thick and deeply grooved at the seams. The nut is much compressed and pale, the shell thick, and the kernel sweet. The flowers are of two kinds, opening after the leaves have attained nearly their full size.

The _wood_ is heavy, hard, tough and strong; it is white largely in the manufacture of agricultural implements and tool handles, and the building of carriages and wagons. For fuel the hickories are the most satisfactory of our native trees.

The big shell bark or king-nut hickory, _Carya laciniosa_ (Michx. f.) Loud., becomes a tall tree on the rich bottom lands in the southern half of Illinois. It resembles the shag-bark hickory but the leaves are longer with 7 to 9 leaflets, and the nuts are 2 inches long with a thick bony shell and a sweet kernel.

+MOCKERNUT HICKORY+ _Carya tomentosa_ Nutt.

THE mockernut, or white hickory, is common on well-drained soils throughout the State. It is a tall, short-limbed tree often 60 feet high and 1 to 2 feet in diameter.

The _bark_ is dark gray, hard, closely and deeply furrowed often apparently cross-furrowed or netted. The winter buds are large, round or broadly egg-shaped and covered with a downy growth.

The _leaves_ are large, strong-scented and hairy, composed of 7 to 9 obovate to oblong, pointed leaflets which turn a beautiful yellow in the fall.

The _flowers_, like those of all other hickories, are of two kinds on the same tree; the staminate in three-branched catkins, the pistillate in clusters of 2 to 5. The _fruit_ is oval, nearly round or slightly pear-shaped with a very thick, strong-scented husk which splits nearly to the base when ripe. The nut is of various forms, but sometimes 4 to 6 ridged, light brown, and has a very thick shell and small, sweet kernel.

The _wood_ is heavy, hard, tough and strong; it is white excepting the comparatively small, dark-brown heart, hence the name white hickory. It is used for vehicle parts and handles. It furnishes the best of fuel. This and other hickories are very desirable both for forest and shade trees.

In the southern part of Illinois, the small fruited or sweet pignut, _Carya ovalis_ Sargent, occurs on rich hillsides. The leaves have 7 leaflets on reddish-brown twigs, with small yellowish winter buds. The nut is an inch long, enclosed in a very thin hairy husk, the shell is thin and the kernel sweet.

+PIGNUT HICKORY+ _Carya glabra_ Sweet

THE pignut hickory is rare in the northern part of Illinois but occurs plentifully in the rest of the State, growing to a medium sized tree on rich uplands. It has a tapering trunk and a narrow oval head with drooping branches.

The _bark_ is close, ridged and grayish, but occasionally rough and flaky. The twigs are thin, smooth and glossy brown.

The _leaves_ are smooth, 8 to 12 inches long and composed of 5 to 7 leaflets. The individual leaflets are rather small and narrow.

The _winter buds_ are 1/2 inch long, egg-shaped, polished, and light brown.

The _fruit_ is pear-shaped or rounded, usually with a neck at the base, very thin husks splitting only half way to the base or not at all. The nut is smooth, light brown in color, rather thick-shelled, and has a somewhat astringent edible kernel.

The _wood_ is heavy, hard, strong, tough and flexible. Its uses are the same as those of the other hickories.

Buckley's hickory, _Carya buckleyi_ Durand, occurs on sandy uplands in the southwest. It is a small tree with spreading, contorted branches. The fruit is contained in a hairy husk, the nut is angular, marked with pale veins and has a sweet kernel.

+BLUE BEECH+ _Carpinus caroliniana_ Walt.

THE blue beech, or American hornbeam, belongs to the birch family rather than to the beeches. It is a small slow-growing bushy tree, 20 to 30 feet tall with a diameter 4 to 8 inches. It is found along streams and in low ground through the State.

The trunk is smooth fluted with irregular ridges extending up and down the tree. The _bark_ is light brownish-gray to dark bluish-gray in color, sometimes marked with dark bands extending horizontally on the trunk.

The _leaves_ are simple, alternate, oval, long-pointed, doubly-toothed along the margin, 2 or 3 inches in length. They resemble those of the American elm, but are smaller and thinner.

The _flowers_, appearing after the leaves, are borne in catkins separately on the same tree; the staminate catkins are about 1-1/2 inches long, the pistillate being only 3/4 of an inch long with small leaf-like green scales each bearing 2 pistils with long scarlet styles.

The _fruit_ ripens in midsummer, but often remains on the tree long after the leaves have fallen. It is a nutlet about 1/3 of an inch long, attached to a leaf-like halberd-shaped bract which acts as a wing in aiding its distribution by the wind.

The _wood_ is tough, close-grained, heavy and strong. It is sometimes selected for use for levers, tool handles, wooden cogs, mallets, wedges, etc.

Another small tree of the birch family is the speckled alder, _Alnus incana_ Moench, which is found occasionally in wet places in the northern part of the State. The black alder, _Alnus glutinosa_ Gaertn., a European tree, has been planted near ponds. The flowers of the alders are in catkins and among the earliest in the spring. The fruit is a small cone which persists throughout the winter.

+HOP HORNBEAM+ _Ostrya virginiana_ K. Koch

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.

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 shores 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.

The _bark_ provides a ready means of distinguishing 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+ _Fagus 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.

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 coarsely 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 prickly bur. The kernel is sweet and edible, but so small as to offer insufficient reward for the pains of biting open the thin-shelled 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 coarsely toothed leaves, and their prickly 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, coarsely 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. palustris 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. phellos

+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.

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, shipbuilding, 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.

The _leaves_ resemble somewhat those of the common white oak, but have a pair of deep indentations on their border near the base, and wavy notches on the broad middle and upper portions of the leaf. They range from 6 to 12 inches long and 3 to 6 inches wide. The _fruit_, or acorn, is a nut set deeply in a fringed cup. It is sometimes 1 inch or more in diameter but varies widely in respect to size and the degree to which the nut is enclosed in the mossy fringed cup.

The _wood_ is heavy, hard, strong, tough and durable. It is used for much the same purposes as the other white oaks, lumber, piling, veneer logs, crossties and fuel.

The swamp white oak, _Quercus bicolor_ Willd., occurs scattered in swamps, through the State. The leaves are obovate, coarsely toothed and wedge-shaped below. They are thick, dark green and shining above, pale and downy beneath. The acorns are borne in a deep rough scaly cup, on stems 2-4 inches long. The wood is like that of the white oak. The bark is gray-brown, separating into large, papery scales which curl back.

+YELLOW CHESTNUT OAK+ _Quercus muhlenbergii_ Engelm.

THIS oak, also called the chinquapin oak, which is an excellent timber tree, occurs throughout the State. It grows on practically all classes of soil and in all moisture conditions except in swamps, and is a very tenacious tree on shallow, dry soil. The _bark_ is light gray, and breaks up into short narrow flakes on the main trunk and old limbs. It reaches a height of 70 to 90 feet. The straight shapely trunk bears a round-topped head composed of small branches, which makes it an attractive shade tree.