The swamp white oak is a rugged and ragged tree, with drooping branches
and crooked twigs, covered with greyish brown bark which peels in thin
flakes from branches and trunk. This habit of shedding its bark in
irregular plates reminds us strongly of the sycamore, which carries this
habit to excess. The leaves of this oak are large, wedge-shaped at the
base, wavy-toothed or lobed, and broadening towards the tips. They are
dark green above, and lined with white down. The acorns are borne in
pairs on long stems. The oval nut is hairy at its tip, and sits in a
rough cup made of scales, sometimes fringed at the border. The kernel is
sweet and eatable, not only for beasts, but for man. If one were lost in
the woods, he need not starve nor die of thirst, if he is near a stream,
and can get the fruit of a swamp white oak, which stands by the water
side. He will do well to make a fire, and roast the acorns, which will
improve their nutty flavour, and make them more digestible.
This white oak is more beautiful in May than at any other season of the
year. The young leaves are pale green, and the tree top is illuminated by
the silky hairs that line them. The whiteness of the down is dimmed as
summer advances. In the autumn the leaves turn yellow, but never red.
The wood of this oak is not distinguished in the lumber trade from any
other white oak. The demand for it for the building of houses and boats,
and for agricultural implements and vehicles, is greater than the supply.
It is too expensive now to be used as it was a few years ago, for fuel,
railroad ties, and fence posts.