1. Winter buds. 2. Flowering branch. 3. Sterile flower, side view. 4. Fertile flower, side view. 5. Fruiting branch. =Quercus ilicifolia, Wang.= _Quercus nana, Sarg. Quercus pumila, Sudw._ SCRUB OAK. BEAR OAK. =Habitat and Range.=--In poor soils; sandy plains, gravelly or rocky hills. Maine,--frequent in eastern and southern sections and upon Mount Desert island; New Hampshire,--as far north as Conway, more common near the lower Connecticut; Vermont,--in the eastern and southern sections as far north as Bellows Falls; Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut,--too abundant, forming in favorable situations dense thickets, sometimes covering several acres. South to Ohio and the mountain regions of North Carolina and Kentucky; west to the Alleghany mountains. =Habit.=--Shrub or small tree, usually 3-8 feet high, but frequently reaching a height of 15-25 feet; trunk short, sometimes in peaty swamps 10-13 inches in diameter near the ground, branches much contorted, throwing out numerous branchlets of similar habit, forming a stiff, flattish head; beautiful for a brief week in spring by the delicate greens and reds of the opening leaves and reds and yellows of the numerous catkins. Sometimes associated with _Q. prinoides_. =Bark.=--Old trunks dark gray, with small, closely appressed scales; small trunks and branches grayish-brown, not furrowed or scaly; younger branches marked with pale yellow, raised dots; season's shoots yellowish-green, with a tawny, scurfy pubescence. =Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds 1/8-1/4 inch long, ovoid or conical, covered with imbricated, brownish, minutely ciliate scales. Leaves simple, alternate, 3-4 inches long and 2-3 inches broad; when unfolding reddish above and woolly on both sides, when mature yellowish-green and somewhat glossy above, smooth except on the midrib, rusty-white, and pubescent beneath; very variable in outline and in the number (3-7) and shape of lobes, sometimes entire, oftenest obovate with 5 bristle-tipped angular lobes, the two lower much smaller; base unequal, wedge-shaped, tip obtuse or rounded; leafstalk short; stipules linear, soon falling. =Inflorescence.=--Early in May. Appearing when the leaves are half grown; sterile catkins 2-4 inches long; calyx pubescent, lobes oftenest 2-3, rounded; stamens 3-5; anthers red or yellow: pistillate flowers numerous; calyx lobes ovate, pointed, reddish, pubescent; stigmas 3, reddish, recurved, spreading. =Fruit.=--Abundant, maturing in the autumn of the second year, clustered along the branchlets on stout, short stems: cup top-shaped or hemispherical: acorn about 1/2 inch long, varying greatly in shape, mostly ovoid or spherical, brown, often striped lengthwise.