quercus coccifera

Oak \Oak\ ([=o]k), n. [OE. oke, ok, ak, AS. [=a]c; akin to D.
   eik, G. eiche, OHG. eih, Icel. eik, Sw. ek, Dan. eeg.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. (Bot.) Any tree or shrub of the genus {Quercus}. The oaks
      have alternate leaves, often variously lobed, and
      staminate flowers in catkins. The fruit is a smooth nut,
      called an {acorn}, which is more or less inclosed in a
      scaly involucre called the cup or cupule. There are now
      recognized about three hundred species, of which nearly
      fifty occur in the United States, the rest in Europe,
      Asia, and the other parts of North America, a very few
      barely reaching the northern parts of South America and
      Africa. Many of the oaks form forest trees of grand
      proportions and live many centuries. The wood is usually
      hard and tough, and provided with conspicuous medullary
      rays, forming the silver grain.
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   2. The strong wood or timber of the oak.
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   Note: Among the true oaks in America are:

   {Barren oak}, or

   {Black-jack}, {Quercus nigra}.

   {Basket oak}, {Quercus Michauxii}.

   {Black oak}, {Quercus tinctoria}; -- called also {yellow oak}
      or {quercitron oak}.

   {Bur oak} (see under {Bur}.), {Quercus macrocarpa}; -- called
      also {over-cup} or {mossy-cup oak}.

   {Chestnut oak}, {Quercus Prinus} and {Quercus densiflora}.

   {Chinquapin oak} (see under {Chinquapin}), {Quercus
      prinoides}.

   {Coast live oak}, {Quercus agrifolia}, of California; -- also
      called {enceno}.

   {Live oak} (see under {Live}), {Quercus virens}, the best of
      all for shipbuilding; also, {Quercus Chrysolepis}, of
      California.

   {Pin oak}. Same as {Swamp oak}.

   {Post oak}, {Quercus obtusifolia}.

   {Red oak}, {Quercus rubra}.

   {Scarlet oak}, {Quercus coccinea}.

   {Scrub oak}, {Quercus ilicifolia}, {Quercus undulata}, etc.
      

   {Shingle oak}, {Quercus imbricaria}.

   {Spanish oak}, {Quercus falcata}.

   {Swamp Spanish oak}, or

   {Pin oak}, {Quercus palustris}.

   {Swamp white oak}, {Quercus bicolor}.

   {Water oak}, {Quercus aquatica}.

   {Water white oak}, {Quercus lyrata}.

   {Willow oak}, {Quercus Phellos}.
      [1913 Webster] Among the true oaks in Europe are:

   {Bitter oak}, or

   {Turkey oak}, {Quercus Cerris} (see {Cerris}).

   {Cork oak}, {Quercus Suber}.

   {English white oak}, {Quercus Robur}.

   {Evergreen oak},

   {Holly oak}, or

   {Holm oak}, {Quercus Ilex}.

   {Kermes oak}, {Quercus coccifera}.

   {Nutgall oak}, {Quercus infectoria}.
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   Note: Among plants called oak, but not of the genus
         {Quercus}, are:

   {African oak}, a valuable timber tree ({Oldfieldia
      Africana}).

   {Australian oak} or {She oak}, any tree of the genus
      {Casuarina} (see {Casuarina}).

   {Indian oak}, the teak tree (see {Teak}).

   {Jerusalem oak}. See under {Jerusalem}.

   {New Zealand oak}, a sapindaceous tree ({Alectryon
      excelsum}).

   {Poison oak}, a shrub once not distinguished from poison ivy,
      but now restricted to {Rhus toxicodendron} or {Rhus
      diversiloba}.

   {Silky oak} or {Silk-bark oak}, an Australian tree
      ({Grevillea robusta}).
      [1913 Webster]

   {Green oak}, oak wood colored green by the growth of the
      mycelium of certain fungi.

   {Oak apple}, a large, smooth, round gall produced on the
      leaves of the American red oak by a gallfly ({Cynips
      confluens}). It is green and pulpy when young.

   {Oak beauty} (Zool.), a British geometrid moth ({Biston
      prodromaria}) whose larva feeds on the oak.

   {Oak gall}, a gall found on the oak. See 2d {Gall}.

   {Oak leather} (Bot.), the mycelium of a fungus which forms
      leatherlike patches in the fissures of oak wood.

   {Oak pruner}. (Zool.) See {Pruner}, the insect.

   {Oak spangle}, a kind of gall produced on the oak by the
      insect {Diplolepis lenticularis}.

   {Oak wart}, a wartlike gall on the twigs of an oak.

   {The Oaks}, one of the three great annual English horse races
      (the Derby and St. Leger being the others). It was
      instituted in 1779 by the Earl of Derby, and so called
      from his estate.

   {To sport one's oak}, to be "not at home to visitors,"
      signified by closing the outer (oaken) door of one's
      rooms. [Cant, Eng. Univ.]
      [1913 Webster]
    

Kermes \Ker"mes\, n. [Ar. & Per. girmiz. See {Crimson}, and cf.
   {Alkermes}.]
   1. (Zool.) The dried bodies of the females of a scale insect
      ({Kermes ilices} formerly {Coccus ilicis}), allied to the
      cochineal insect, and found on several species of oak near
      the Mediterranean; also, the dye obtained from them. They
      are round, about the size of a pea, contain coloring
      matter analogous to carmine, and are used in dyeing. They
      were anciently thought to be of a vegetable nature, and
      were used in medicine. [Written also {chermes}.]
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Bot.) A small European evergreen oak ({Quercus
      coccifera}) on which the kermes insect ({Kermes ilices},
      formerly {Coccus ilicis}) feeds. --J. Smith (Dict. Econ.
      Plants).
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Zool.) [NL.] A genus of scale insects including many
      species that feed on oaks. The adult female resembles a
      small gall.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   {Kermes mineral}.
      (a) (Old Chem.) An artificial amorphous trisulphide of
          antimony; -- so called on account of its red color.
      (b) (Med. Chem.) A compound of the trioxide and
          trisulphide of antimony, used in medicine. This
          substance occurs in nature as the mineral {kermesite}.
          [1913 Webster]
    

Cochineal \Coch"i*neal\ (k[o^]ch"[i^]*n[=e]l; 277), [Sp.
   cochinilla, dim. from L. coccineus, coccinus, scarlet, fr.
   coccum the kermes berry, G. ko`kkos berry, especially the
   kermes insect, used to dye scarlet, as the cochineal was
   formerly supposed to be the grain or seed of a plant, and
   this word was formerly defined to be the grain of the
   {Quercus coccifera}; but cf. also Sp. cochinilla wood louse,
   dim. of cochina sow, akin to F. cochon pig.]
   A dyestuff consisting of the dried bodies of females of the
   {Coccus cacti}, an insect native in Mexico, Central America,
   etc., and found on several species of cactus, esp. {Opuntia
   cochinellifera}.
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: These insects are gathered from the plant, killed by
         the application of heat, and exposed to the sun to dry.
         When dried they resemble small, rough berries or seeds,
         of a brown or purple color, and form the cochineal of
         the shops, which is used for making carmine, and also
         as a red dye.
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   Note: Cochineal contains as its essential coloring matter
         carminic acid, a purple red amorphous substance which
         yields carmine red.
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