. West Virginia trees. rown. Leaves.—Alternate, simple, oval, 4-6 inches long, rounded at theapex, wavy-toothed, somewhat downy when young. Flowers.—October and November; perfect; with 4 slender, strap-shaped yellow petals, clustered at the leaf axils. Fruit.—Ripens in autumn from flowers of the previous year; atwo-celled, woody, nut-like pod, Yi inch long, containing black shiningseeds which are propelled a distance of several feet when the podsburst open. Bark.—Smooth or scaly, thin, light brown and blotched. Wood.—Heavy, hard, close-grained, light brown. Range.—Ontario to Florida, west to T
. West Virginia trees. rown. Leaves.—Alternate, simple, oval, 4-6 inches long, rounded at theapex, wavy-toothed, somewhat downy when young. Flowers.—October and November; perfect; with 4 slender, strap-shaped yellow petals, clustered at the leaf axils. Fruit.—Ripens in autumn from flowers of the previous year; atwo-celled, woody, nut-like pod, Yi inch long, containing black shiningseeds which are propelled a distance of several feet when the podsburst open. Bark.—Smooth or scaly, thin, light brown and blotched. Wood.—Heavy, hard, close-grained, light brown. Range.—Ontario to Florida, west to Texas and Minnesota. Distribution in West Virginia.—Found throughout the State. Habitat.—Prefers moist rocky soils but thrives in a variety ofsituations. Notes.—This small abundant tree is interesting in that it blos-soms in the fall at the same time its fruit is maturing. It is not im-portant for forestry uses, and is seldom planted for any purpose. 138 W. VA. AGRL EXPERIMENT STATION [Bulletin 17&. SWEET GUM September, 1J20] WEST VIRGINIA TREES 139 SWEET GUMLiquidambar styraciflua, L. Form.—Height 50-100 feet, diameter, 2-4 feet; trunk usually talland straight with narrow crown, except when grown in the open. Leaves.—Alternate, simple, 3-5 inches long, irregularly star-shaped, with five unequal pointed lobes, broader than long, marginsof lobes serrate, bright shining green above, paler beneath, petioleslong and round. Flowers.—April-May; usually monoecious; the staminate green,borne in terminal racemes; the pistillate in heads on long axillarystalks. Fruit.—A long-stalked spherical head, 1-13^ inches in diameter,composed of numerous capsules, covered with curved, blunt, spine-like appendages. Bark.—On old trunks gray with deep furrows and scaly bark is often present on limbs and twigs. Wood.—Heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, reddish-brown withwhitish sapwood. Range.—Southern Connecticut to Florida, west to Missouri andTexas. Distri
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectshrubs, bookyear1920
