. West Virginia trees. atures in autumn ; an ovoid, blue-black, fleshy drupe,about ^ inch long and borne on long- stalks in clusters of 1-3. Bark.—Deeply furrowed, on old trunks, the ridges broken intorectangular or hexagonal blocks ; light brown to gray-black. Wood.—Heavy, soft, strong, tough, dif^cult to split, not durablein the soil, light yellow, with thick whitish sapwood. Range.—Maine and Ontario to Florida and Texas. Distribution in West Virginia.—A common tree throughout theState. Least common at high elevations and east of the Alleghanies. Habitat.—Thrives Ijest on low ground and jjor
. West Virginia trees. atures in autumn ; an ovoid, blue-black, fleshy drupe,about ^ inch long and borne on long- stalks in clusters of 1-3. Bark.—Deeply furrowed, on old trunks, the ridges broken intorectangular or hexagonal blocks ; light brown to gray-black. Wood.—Heavy, soft, strong, tough, dif^cult to split, not durablein the soil, light yellow, with thick whitish sapwood. Range.—Maine and Ontario to Florida and Texas. Distribution in West Virginia.—A common tree throughout theState. Least common at high elevations and east of the Alleghanies. Habitat.—Thrives Ijest on low ground and jjorders of swamps,but is common on dry slopes and ridges. Notes.—Black Gum, also called Tupelo, Pepperidge, and SourGum, is one of the less valuable of our forest trees, but its tough,light wood is gaining in value and is used extensively for wheelhubs, boxes, l^room handles, wagon beds, ladders, ironing boards,rolling pins, excelsior, baskets, and berry crates. 208 W. VA. AGRL EXPERIMENT STATION [Bulletin 175. GREAT LAUREL September, 1()20] WEST VIRGINIA TREES 209 GREAT LAURELRhododendron maximum, L. Form.—A shrub or small tree sometimes reaching- a height of 20-25 feet; trunk short and usually twisted and bent, with contortedbranches forming- a flat irregidar top. Leaves.—Alternate, simple, evergreen, mostly clustered at theends of branches, elliptical-oblong, 4-10 inches long, very thick, acuteapex, narrowed base, entire, smooth, dark green above, light greenbeneath. Flowers.—June; perfect; pale rose to white, upi)er petals markedwith yellow-green dots, flowers arranged in umbel-like heads 4-5inches in diameter. Fruit.—Matures in late summer and persists through the Axinter ;a reddish-broxvn. 5-celled, many-seeded capsule, about ]/> inch long,terminated by a long persistent style. Bark.—Roughened by thin, flaky scales, dark reddjrown. Wood.—Hard, strong, brittle, close-grained, light ])rown withlighter sapwood. Range.—Nova Scotia and Lake Erie south
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectshrubs, bookyear1920
