BUR OAK (Mossy-Cup Oak) Quercus macrocarpa Michx. Bur oak occurs throughout the eastern part of the state and as far west as Callahan and Menard Counties, in rich bottomlands along streams, or on rich hillsides along spring-fed rivers. The name alludes to the fringe around the cup of the acorn, which is sometimes large. The tree usually has a broad top of heavy spreading branches and a relatively short body. In maturity it attains a diameter of 5 feet or more and a height of over 80 feet. The branches frequently have conspicuous corky ridges after the second year. [Illustration: BUR OAK (Illustrations, one-third natural size)] The BARK is light gray and is usually broken up into small narrow flakes. The deciduous LEAVES resemble somewhat those of the common white oak, but are much larger and 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 set deeply in the fringed cup. The fruit is usually 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 fruit matures in one season. The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, tough and durable. It is used for much the same purposes as the other white oaks—for lumber, crossties, and fuel. OVERCUP OAK Quercus lyrata Walt. Overcup oak, sometimes known as the swamp post oak or water white oak, becomes a large tree with small, often pendulous branches. It is found in moist, rich bottomlands in East Texas to the Navasota River Valley. The LEAVES are deciduous, 7 to 9 inches long, 1 to 4 inches broad, oblong, wider toward the point, narrowed at the base, dark green above, often whitish beneath, with 7 to 9 distinct pointed lobes. They frequently turn to a bright scarlet or to scarlet and orange in the fall. The BARK is rough, flaky, and gray tinged with red. [Illustration: OVERCUP OAK (Leaf and fruit, one-third natural size; twig, two-thirds natural size)] The FLOWERS open with the unfolding of the leaves. The FRUIT, an acorn, ripens in one season. The large rounded or somewhat flattened acorn, an inch or more across and ½ to 1 inch high, is nearly covered by the ovate or nearly spherical cup, which is thickened at the base but gradually grows thinner, often irregularly split at the margin of the cup. The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, and durable and is used for the same purposes as that of white oak. SWAMP CHESTNUT OAK Quercus michauxii Nutt.