=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds ovate, conical, sharp-pointed. Leaves simple, alternate, 4-8 inches long, 3-5 inches broad, bright green above, paler beneath, dull brown in autumn; outline oval or obovate, sometimes scarcely distinguishable by the character of its lobing from _Q. tinctoria_; in the typical form, lobes broadly triangular or oblong, with parallel sides bristle-pointed; leafstalks short; stipules linear, soon falling. =Inflorescence.=--Earliest of the oaks, appearing in late April or early May, when the leaves are half-grown; sterile catkins 3-5 inches long; calyx mostly 4-lobed; lobes rounded; stamens mostly 4; anthers yellow: pistillate flowers short-stemmed; calyx lobes mostly 3 or 4; stigmas long, spreading. =Fruit.=--Maturing in the second year, single or in pairs, sessile or short-stalked: cup sometimes turbinate, usually saucer-shaped with a flat or rounded base, often contracted at the opening and surmounted by a kind of border; scales closely imbricated, reddish-brown, more or less downy, somewhat glossy, triangular-acute to obtuse, pubescent: acorn nearly cylindrical or ovoid, tapering to a broad, rounded top. =Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows in all well-drained soils, but prefers a rich, moist loam; more readily obtainable than most of our oaks; in common with other trees of the genus, nursery trees must be transplanted frequently to be moved with safety; grows rapidly and is fairly free from disfiguring insects; the oak-pruner occasionally lops off its twigs. When once established, it grows as rapidly as the sugar maple, and is worthy of much more extended use in street and landscape plantations. Propagated from the seed. [Illustration: PLATE XLIII.--Quercus rubra.] 1. Winter buds. 2. Flowering branch. 3. Sterile flower. 4. Fertile flowers, side view. 5. Fruiting branch. =Quercus coccinea, Wang.= SCARLET OAK. =Habitat and Range.=--Most common in dry soil. Ontario. Maine,--valley of the Androscoggin, southward; New Hampshire and Vermont,--not authoritatively reported by recent observers; Massachusetts,--more common in the eastern than western sections, sometimes covering considerable areas; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--common. South to the middle states and along the mountains to North Carolina and Tennessee; reported from Florida; west to Minnesota, Nebraska, and Missouri. =Habit.=--A medium-sized tree, 30-50 feet high and 1-3 feet in trunk diameter; attaining greater dimensions southward; trunk straight and tapering, branches regular, long, comparatively slender, not contorted, the lower nearly horizontal, often declined at the ends; branchlets slender; head open, narrow-oblong or rounded, graceful; foliage deeply cut, shining green in summer and flaming scarlet in autumn; the most brilliant and most elegant of the New England oaks.