The chestnut oak has leaves which are much like those of the chestnut
tree. They are larger, and wider, however, and have rounded lobes at the
ends of the side veins, making a very regular wavy margin, compared with
that of most oak leaves. The lining is often silky, and always much paler
than the upper surface. This tree is an exception to the rule that the
annual-fruited oaks have pale bark. This one has bark so dark in colour
that it is often mistaken for one of the Black Oak Group, although its
wavy leaf margins, and its annual crop of acorns, prove it to belong to
the White Oak Group.
The acorns are very long, and smooth, and they sit in thin cups lined
with down, and covered with small swollen scales. They are usually borne
alone on short stems. This is one of the largest and sweetest acorns. The
squirrels pack them among their winter’s stores.
The wood of chestnut oak is hard, and strong, and durable in contact with
the soil. The bark is especially rich in tannic acid. For this reason
many of the finest trees yield only tan bark, because the peelers take
the bark, and leave the log to fall a prey to forest fires.