English Oak - Quercus robur

 

Oak has the highest status and highest order of all trees on the British Isles.

It is a large deciduous tree with a dense crown of heavy branches that usually stem horizontally from the trunk. It has thick grey bark which, in mature Oak trees, becomes deeply fissured which gives it a beautiful enchanting aesthetic. Almost as if it has wrinkled with old age.

Oaks can grow up to around 800 years old. Older Oaks can become what is called 'stag headed' which is when the trees old dead branches are lifted above the trees canopy and stick out from the top like a stags horns. Oaks trunks can also sometimes hollow out when they get very old.

 

 

Quercus leaves are deeply lobed with two auricles at the base. English oak leaves have no petiole which makes them more distinguishable. English Oak leaves are also replaced by a 2nd crop midway through the summer, this is called lammas growth. This is why Oaks can sometimes appear to be losing their leaves before the Autumn has come.

 

 

 

 A dioecious tree, meaning it produces both male and female reproductive parts on the same plant. Male and Female catkins appear at 1st flush of leaves in the spring. Male catkins die after pollination, leaves are fully opened by this time.

Oaks produce acorns. Acorns are on long stalks held in roughly scaled cups, normally in groups of 1-3.

 

Oaks prefer heavier clay soils, which shows that they can survive, and favour, wet/damp conditions.

They are often dominant in woodlands and lowland areas but do occur at higher altitudes too.

 

English Oaks are also extremely important in ecological terms. They support invertebrate life in abundamce, the larvae of several hundred moth species feed on its leaves. Gall-forming insects are also associated with it and even in death, Oak supports life in the form of wood-boring beetle, larvae and fungi.

 

Oak is an extremely important building material. It has always been, in Britain, the timber of choice in wooden framed buildings. Historically all buildings, especially larger manor houses, would have had an oak frame. Oak is still used in building to this day and used in many different ways including 'green oak construction.'