Quercus robur
Quercus robur, commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widely cultivated in temperate regions elsewhere and has escaped into the wild in scattered parts of China and North America.[3][4]
| Quercus robur | |
|---|---|
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| Leaves and acorns (note the long acorn stalks) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Fagaceae |
| Genus: | Quercus |
| Subgenus: | Quercus subg. Quercus |
| Section: | Quercus sect. Quercus |
| Species: | Q. robur |
| Binomial name | |
| Quercus robur | |
 | |
| Distribution map | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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List
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Description
Quercus robur is a deciduous tree up to 40 m tall,[5] with a single stout trunk that can be as much as 11 m in girth (circumference at breast height) or even 14 m in pollarded specimens. Older trees tend to be pollarded, with boles (the main trunk) 2-3 m long. These live longer and become more stout than unpollarded trees. The crown is spreading and unevenly domed, and trees often have massive lower branches. The bark is greyish-brown and closely grooved, with vertical plates. There are often large burrs on the trunk, which typically produce many small shoots. Oaks do not produce suckers but do recover well from pruning or lightning damage. The twigs are hairless and the buds are rounded (ovoid), brownish and pointed.[6][5][7]
The leaves are arranged alternately along the twigs and are broadly oblong or ovate, 10-12 cm long by 7-8 cm wide, with a short (typically 2-3 mm) petiole. They have a cordate (auricled) base and 3-6 rounded lobes, divided no further than half way to the midrib. The leaves are usually glabrous or have just a few simple hairs on the lower surface. They are dark green above, paler below, and are often covered in small disks of spangle gall by autumn.[6]
Flowering takes place in spring (early May in England). It is wind-pollinated. The male flowers occur in narrow catkins some 2-4 cm long and arranged in small bunches; the female flowers are small, brown with dark red stigmas, about 2 mm in diameter and are found at the tips of new shoots on peduncles 2-5 cm long.[6]
The fruits (acorns) are borne in clusters of 2-3 on a long peduncle (stalk) 4-8 cm long. Each acorn is 1.5-4 cm long, ovoid with a pointed tip, starting out whitish-green and becoming brown, then black. As with all oaks, the acorns are carried in a shallow cup which can be distinctive in identifying the species.[6] It is an "alternate bearing" species, which means that big crops of acorns are produced every other year.[8]
Taxonomy
Quercus robur (from the Latin quercus, "oak" + robur "hardwood, oak wood, oak") was named by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum (vol. 2, p.996) in 1753. It is the type species of the genus and classified in the white oak section (Quercus section Quercus).[9]
The genome of Q. robur has been completely sequenced (GenOak project); a first version was published in 2016. It comprises 12 chromosome pairs (2n = 24), about 26,000 genes and 750 million bp.[10]
There are many synonyms, and numerous varieties and subspecies have been named.[11] The populations in Italy, southeast Europe, and Asia Minor and the Caucasus are sometimes treated as separate species, Q. brutia Tenore, Q. pedunculiflora K. Koch and Q. haas Kotschy respectively.
Quercus × rosacea Bechst. (Q. petraea x Q. robur) is the only naturally-occurring hybrid,[12] but the following crosses with other white oak species have been produced in cultivation:
- Q. × bimundorum (Q. alba × Q. robur) (two worlds oak)
- Q. × macdanielli (Q. macrocarpa × Q. robur) (heritage oak)
- Q. × turneri Willd. (Q. ilex × Q. robur) (Turner's oak)
- Q. × warei (Q. robur fastigiata x Q. bicolor).
There are numerous cultivars available, among which the following are commonly grown:
- 'Fastigiata', cypress oak, is a large imposing tree with a narrow columnar habit.
- 'Concordia', golden oak, is a small, very slow-growing tree, eventually reaching 10 m (33 ft), with bright golden-yellow leaves throughout spring and summer. It was originally raised in Van Geert's nursery at Ghent in 1843.
- 'Pendula', weeping oak, is a small to medium-sized tree with pendulous branches, reaching up to 15 m.
- 'Purpurea' is another small form, growing to 10 m, with purple leaves.
- 'Pectinata' (syn. 'Filicifolia'), cut-leaved oak, is a cultivar where the leaf is pinnately divided into fine, forward-pointing segments.[13]
Identification
The species most likely to be confused with it is sessile oak, which shares much of its range. Quercus robur is distinguished from Q. petraea by its leaves having auricles at the base, the very short petiole, its clusters of acorns being borne on a long peduncle, and the lack of stellate hairs on the underside of the leaf. The two often hybridise in the wild, the hybrid being Quercus × rosacea.[5]
Turkey oak is also sometimes confused with it, but that species has "whiskers" on the winter buds and deeper lobes on the leaves (often more than half way to the midrib). The acorn cups are also very different.[8]
Habitat and ecology
Pedunculate oak is a long-lived tree of high-canopy woodland, coppice and wood-pasture, and it is commonly planted in hedges. When compared to sessile oak, it is more abundant in the lowlands of the south and east in Britain, and it occurs on more neutral (less acid) soils. It is rare on thin, well-drained calcareous (chalk and limestone) soil. Sometimes it is found on the margins of swamps, rivers and ponds, showing that it is fairly tolerant of intermittent flooding.[14] Its Ellenberg values in Britain are L = 7, F = 5, R = 5, N = 4, and S = 0.[15]
Within its native range, Q. robur is valued for its importance to insects and other wildlife, supporting the highest biodiversity of insect herbivores of any British plant (at least 400 species).[16] The most well-known of these are the ones that form galls, which number about 35. In Britain, the knopper gall is very common, and Andricus grossulariae produces somewhat similar spiky galls on the acorn cups. Also common in Britain are two types of spherical galls on the twigs: the oak marble gall and the cola nut gall. The latter are smaller and rougher than the former. For people who find these galls, it can be interesting to know that a single, large exit hole indicates that the wasp inside has escaped, whereas a number of smaller holes shows that it was parasitised by another insect, and these emerged instead. The undersides of oak leaves are often covered in spangle galls, which persist after the leaves fall.[8]
The quantity of caterpillar species on an oak tree increases with the age of the tree,[17] with blue tits and great tits timing their egg hatching to the leaves opening.[17] The most common caterpillar species include the winter moth, the green tortrix and the mottled umber, all of which can become extremely abundant on the first flush of leaves in May, but the oak trees do recover their foliage later in the year.[8]
The acorns are typically produced in large quantities every other year (unlike Q. petraea, which produces large crops only every 4-10 years)[8] and form a valuable food resource for several small mammals and some birds, notably Eurasian jays Garrulus glandarius. Jays were overwhelmingly the primary propagators[18] of oaks before humans began planting them commercially (and still remain the principal propagators for wild oaks), because of their habit of taking acorns from the umbra of its parent tree and burying them undamaged elsewhere. Mammals, notably squirrels who tend to hoard acorns and other nuts, usually leave them too abused to grow in the action of moving or storing them.
Notable trees
The Majesty Oak with a circumference of 12.2 m (40 ft) is the thickest tree in Great Britain.[19] The Brureika (Bridal Oak) in Norway with a circumference of 10.86 m (35.6 ft)(2018)[20] and the Kaive Oak in Latvia with a circumference of 10.2 m (33 ft) are among the thickest trees in Northern Europe. The largest historical oak was known as the Imperial Oak from Bosnia and Herzegovina. This specimen was recorded at 17.5 m in circumference at breast height and estimated at over 150 m³ in total volume. It collapsed in 1998.[21]
Two individuals of notable longevity are the Stelmužė Oak in Lithuania and the Granit Oak in Bulgaria, which are believed to be more than 1500 years old, possibly making them the oldest oaks in Europe; another specimen, called the 'Kongeegen' ('Kings Oak'), estimated to be about 1,200 years old, grows in Jaegerspris, Denmark.[22] Yet another can be found in Kvilleken, Sweden, that is over 1000 years old and 14 m (46 ft) around.[23] Of maiden (not pollarded) specimens, one of the oldest is the great oak of Ivenack, Germany. Tree-ring research of this tree and other oaks nearby gives an estimated age of 700 to 800 years. Also the Bowthorpe Oak in Lincolnshire, England is estimated to be 1,000 years old, making it the oldest in the UK, although there is Knightwood Oak in the New Forest that is also said to be as old. The highest density of Q. robur with a circumference of 4 m (13 ft) and more is in Latvia.[24]
Chemistry
Grandinin/roburin E, castalagin/vescalagin, gallic acid, monogalloyl glucose (glucogallin) and valoneic acid dilactone, monogalloyl glucose, digalloyl glucose, trigalloyl glucose, rhamnose, quercitrin and ellagic acid are phenolic compounds found in Q. robur.[25] The heartwood contains triterpene saponins.[26]
Cultivation
A number of cultivars are grown in gardens and parks and in arboreta and botanical gardens. The most common cultivar is Quercus robur 'Fastigiata', and is the exception among Q. robur cultivars that are generally smaller than the standard tree, growing to between 10 and 15 m (35 and 50 ft) and exhibit unusual leaf or crown shape characteristics.
- In Australia
English oak is one of the most common park trees in south-eastern Australia, noted for its vigorous, luxuriant growth. In Australia, it grows very quickly to a tree of 20 m (66 ft) tall by up to 20 m (66 ft) broad, with a low-branching canopy. Its trunk and secondary branches are very thick and solid and covered with deep-fissured blackish-grey bark.[27] The largest example in Australia is in Donnybrook, Western Australia.[28]
Diseases
- Acute oak decline
- Powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe alphitoides[29]
- Sudden oak death
Commercial forestry
Quercus robur is planted for forestry, and produces a long-lasting and durable heartwood, much in demand for interior and furniture work. The wood of Q. robur is identified by a close examination of a cross-section perpendicular to fibres. The wood is characterised by its distinct (often wide) dark and light brown growth rings. The earlywood displays a vast number of large vessels (around 0.5 mm or 1⁄64 inch in diameter). There are rays of thin (about 0.1 mm or 1⁄256 in) yellow or light brown lines running across the growth rings. The timber is around 720 kilograms (1,590 pounds) per cubic meter in density.[30]
Culture
Basque Country
In the Basque Country (Spain and France) the oak symbolises the traditional Basque liberties. This is based on the 'tree of Gernika', an ancient oak tree located in Gernika, below which since at least the 13th century the Lords of Biscay first, and afterwards their successors the Kings of Castile and the Kings of Spain solemnly swore to uphold the charter of Biscay, which secured widespread rights to the inhabitants of Biscay. Since the 14th century, the Juntas Generales (the parliament of Biscay) gathers in a building next to the oak tree, and symbolically passes its laws under the tree as well. Nowadays, the Lehendakari (Basque prime minister) swears his oath of office under the tree.
Bulgaria
The national coat of arms of Bulgaria includes two crossed oak branches with fruits – as shield (escutcheon) compartment.
Croatia
Oak leaves with acorns are depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 5 lipa coin, minted since 1993.[31] The pedunculate oak of the Croatian region of Slavonia (considered a separate subspecies – Slavonian oak) is a regional symbol of Slavonia and a national symbol of Croatia.[32]
Finland
In traditional Finnish culture, the oak is considered a holy tree.[33] In Finnic mythology, the World tree, which supported the sky, was a great oak, which grew to block the movement of the sky, sunlight and moonlight, and had to be felled, releasing its magic, creating the Milky Way, which guides dead souls to the afterworld.[33][34] The oak was also considered to have many magical properties, and it was used in traditional Finnish folk medicine as well.[33]
In 1746, all oak trees were legally classified as royal property (at the time Finland was a part of Sweden), and oaks had enjoyed legal protection already from the 17th century.[35]
The oak is also the regional tree of the Southwest Finland region,[36] where it is a common yard tree.[37]
France
The oak tree has had a symbolic value since Ancient times. Some oaks were considered sacred trees by the Gauls. The druids would cut down the mistletoe growing on them. Even after Christianization, oak trees were considered to protect as lightning would strike them rather than on nearby inhabitation. Such struck trees would often be turned into places of worship, like the Chêne chapelle. King Saint Louis has been represented rendering justice under an oak tree. During the French Revolution, oaks were often planted as trees of freedom (fr). One of such trees, an oak planted during the 1848 Revolution, survived the destruction of Oradour-sur-Glane by the Nazis. The branch of oak is part of the National emblem of France. After the announcement of General Charles de Gaulle's death, caricaturist Jacques Faizant represented him as a fallen oak.
Germany
In Germany, the oak tree (regional known as "German Oak") is used as a typical object and symbol in romanticism. It can be found in several paintings of Caspar David Friedrich and in "Of the life of a Good-For-Nothing" written by Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff as a symbol of the state protecting every citizen. In those works the oak is shown in different situations, with leaves and flowers or dead without any of its previous beauty. Those conditions are mostly symbols for the conditions Germany is in or going through. Furthermore, the oak's stem is a symbol for Germany's strength and stability. Oak branches were displayed on the reverse of coins of the old Deutsche Mark currency (1 through 10 Pfennigs; the 50 Pfennigs coin showed a woman planting an oak seedling), and are now also displayed on the reverse of German-issue Euro currency coins (1 through 5 cents).
Ireland
In Ireland, at Birr Castle, a specimen over 400 years old has a girth of 6.5 m (21 ft). It is known as the Carroll Oak, referring to the local Chieftains, Ely O'Carroll who ruled prior to Norman occupation.[38]
Latvia
In Latvia oak is the national symbol. Many Latvian folk songs are about oak tree. Base of the coat of arms is decorated with the branches of an oak tree.
Romania
The Romanian Rugby Union side is known as The Oaks.
Scandinavia
In the Scandinavian countries, oaks were considered the "thunderstorm trees", which representing Thor, the god of thunder.[39]
Serbia
In Serbia the oak is a national symbol,[40] having been part of the historical coat of arms of the Socialist Republic of Serbia, the historical coat of arms and flags of the Principality of Serbia, as well as the current traditional coat of arms and flag of Vojvodina.[41] On the coat of arms, the oak branch at one side symbolized strength and longevity, while the olive branch at the other symbolized peace and fertility.[40] On the socialist coat of arms, the golden oak branch was present next to a golden wreath of wheat. At troublesome times, when there were no churches, people prayed under oak trees where they would carve a cross, zapis; some of these oaks are over 600 years old and are considered sacred.[42] The oak is used in the Serbian Christmas tradition of Badnjak.
United Kingdom
In England, the English oak has assumed the status of a national emblem. This has its origins in the oak tree at Boscobel House, where the future King Charles II hid from his Parliamentarian pursuers in 1650 during the English Civil War; the tree has since been known as the Royal Oak. This event was celebrated nationally on 29 May as Oak Apple Day, which is continued to this day in some communities.[43] 'The Royal Oak' is the third most popular pub name in Britain (with 541 counted in 2007)[44] and HMS Royal Oak has been the name of eight major Royal Navy warships. The naval associations are strengthened by the fact that oak was the main construction material for sailing warships. The Royal Navy was often described as "The Wooden Walls of Old England"[45] (a paraphrase of the Delphic Oracle) and the Navy’s official quick march is "Heart of Oak". In folklore, the Major Oak is where Robin Hood is purportedly to have taken shelter.[46] Furthermore, the oak is the most common woodland tree in England.[47] An oak tree has been depicted on the reverse of the pound coin (the 1987 and 1992 issues) and a sprig of oak leaves and acorns is the emblem of the National Trust.
See also
- Gernika Oak
- Knopper gall
- Oak marble gall
References
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- "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".
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{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - MacDonald, Benedict (2019). Rebirding (2020 ed.). Exeter, EX3 9BR: Pelagic. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-78427-219-7.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - White, John (1995). Forest and Woodland Trees in Britain. Oxford University Press. p. 131. ISBN 0-19-854883-4.
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- "Kong Frederik den Syvendes Stiftelse paa Jægerspris". www.kongfrederik.dk. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
- Moström, Jerker (May 2006). "The Oak Tree, from Peasant Torment to a Unifying Concept of Landscape Management" (PDF). The Oak – History, Ecology Management and Planning. Linköping, Sweden: National Heritage Board of Sweden.
- Eniņš, Guntis (2008). 100 dižākie un svētākie, AS Lauku Avīze, p. 25. ISBN 978-9984-827-15-5
- Analysis of oak tannins by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. Pirjo Mämmelä, Heikki Savolainenb, Lasse Lindroosa, Juhani Kangasd and Terttu Vartiainen, Journal of Chromatography A, Volume 891, Issue 1, 1 September 2000, Pages 75–83, doi:10.1016/S0021-9673(00)00624-5
- Identification of triterpene saponins in Quercus robur L. and Q. petraea Liebl. Heartwood by LC-ESI/MS and NMR. Arramon G, Saucier C, Colombani D and Glories Y, Phytochem Anal., November-December 2002, volume 13, issue 6, pages 305–310, PMID 12494747
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- "Oak mildew". Forestry Commission. 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
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- "Croatian National Symbols". kwintessential.co.uk/. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
- Ranta, Reetta (20 June 2016). "Mytologia: Myyttinen tammi". yle.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
- Nykänen, Topi (6 August 2006). "Elämänvoiman juurella". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 2022-06-03. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
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- Elisabeth Hackspiel-Mikosch; Stefan Haas (2006). Civilian uniforms as symbolic communication: sartorial representation, imagination, and consumption in Europe (18th - 21st century). Franz Steiner Verlag. p. 196. ISBN 978-3-515-08858-9.
The oak, symbol of Serbia, symbolized strength, longevity, and the olive branch represented peace and fertility
- "Покрајинска скупштинска одлука о изгледу и коришћењу симбола и традиционалних симбола Аутономне покрајине Војводине". Službeni liist AP Vojvodine (in Serbian) (51). 15 September 2016.
- Andrea Pieroni; Cassandra L. Quave (14 November 2014). Ethnobotany and Biocultural Diversities in the Balkans: Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Development and Reconciliation. Springer. pp. 240–. ISBN 978-1-4939-1492-0.
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- "Real Ale and Pub News Features Archive". Solihullcamra.org.uk. 15 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
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- Flora Europaea: Quercus robur
- Bean, W. J. (1976). Trees and shrubs hardy in the British Isles 8th ed., revised. John Murray.
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- (in French) Chênes: Quercus robur
External links
- Oaks from Bialowieza Forest in Poland (biggest oak cluster with the monumental sizes in Europe) {English}
- Monumental Trees, Photos and location details of large English oak trees
- Latvia - the land of oaks
- Den virtuella floran - Distribution
- Quercus robur - information, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN)
