An Analysis of Seedling Progeny of an Individual of Quercus Saulii Compared with Seedlings of a Typical Individual of the White Oak (Quercus Alba) and a Typical Rock Chestnut Oak (Quersus Montana)

It is not unusual to find oak trees with unmistakably hybrid features in the two distinct groups of eastern oaks, the white oak group and the red oak group. That hybrids occur between the members within these two groups is obvious to a student familiar with oaks in the field. These hybrid oaks are distinguished by a multiplicity of’ intermediate characteristics in many instances, which may appear in the leaves, the autumnal coloration or the acorns. Spontaneous hybrids appearing in nature leave no historic records at to how, when or where they occurred. One can only surmise as to the origin of the tree in question. Whether it is a first generation derivative, an individual of a later generation, or some back-cross is quite unknown. There has been comparatively little study of our hybrid oaks and their progenies, and even less study of progenies derived from controlled crosses involving pure or line-bred parents of the species crossed. There is marked variation within most species of oaks, and some of these variations have appeared so distinctive that they have been considered of varietal importance by some botanists. A number of these appear to havTe more or less definite geographical limitations. Quercus alba var. latiloba Sarg. and Q. alba var. repanda Michx. f., may be mentioned in this connection. The former with shorter lobes and shallower sinuses, is more common than the typical, very deeply lobed form generally, especially in more northern regions 1/2/. The latter is said to be more abundant in parts of Louisiana and, in certain counties in Illinois 1/3/.