Everything about Pedunculate Oak totally explained
Quercus robur (sometimes considered
Q. pedunculata) is commonly known as the
pedunculate oak or
English oak. It is native to most of
Europe, and to
Asia Minor to the
Caucasus, and also to parts of
North Africa.
Taxonomy
Q. robur (
Latin quercus, "oak" +
robur "strength, hard timber") is the type species of the genus (the species by which the
oak genus
Quercus is defined), and a member of the
white oak section Quercus section
Quercus. 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.
A close relative is the
Sessile Oak (
Q. petraea), which shares much of its range.
Q. robur is distinguished from this species by its leaves having only a very short stalk 3–8 mm long, and by its pendunculate acorns. The two often
hybridise in the wild, the hybrid being known as
Quercus × rosacea.
Description
Q. robur is a large
deciduous tree 25–35 m tall (exceptionally to 50 m), with lobed and nearly sessile (very short-stalked) leaves 7–14 cm long. Flowering takes place in mid spring, and their fruit, called
acorns, ripen by the following autumn. The acorns are 2–2.5 cm long, pedunculate (having a peduncle or acorn-stalk, 3–7 cm long) with one to four acorns on each peduncle.
It is a long-lived tree, with a large widespreading head of rugged branches. While it may naturally live to an age of a few centuries, many of the oldest trees are
pollarded or
coppiced, both pruning techniques that extend the tree's potential lifespan, if not its health. A specimen of notable longevity is one in
Stelmužė,
Lithuania which is believed to be approximately 1,500 years old, possibly making it the oldest oak in Europe; another specimen, called the Kongeegen (Kings Oak), estimated to be about 1,200 years old, grows in Jaegerspris,
Denmark. Yet another can be found in
Sweden, Kvilleken. It is over 1,000 years old and 14 meters around.
(External Link
) 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 old.
Economic importance
Within its native range
Q. robur is valued for its importance to
insects and other wildlife. Numerous insects live on the leaves, buds, and in the acorns. The acorns form a valuable food resource for several small
mammals and some birds, notably
Eurasian Jays
Garrulus glandarius.
It 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 easily identified just by taking a closer look at the 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 (~0.5 mm diameter). Rays which resemble of thin (~0.1 mm) yellow or light brown lines run across the growth rings.
Cultivars and hybrids
A number of
cultivars are grown in
arboreta and in
parks and
gardens. The most common cultivar is
Quercus robur 'Fastigiata', and is the exception among
Q. robur cultivars which are generally smaller than the standard tree, growing to between 10-15 m and exhibit unusual leaf or crown shape characteristics.
- Quercus robur 'Fastigiata' ("Cypress Oak"), probably the most common cultivated form, it grows to a large imposing tree with a narrow columnar habit. The fastigiate oak was originally propagated from an upright tree that was found in central Europe.
- Quercus robur 'Concordia' ("Golden Oak"), a small very slow-growing tree, eventually reaching 10 m, with bright golden-yellow leaves throughout spring and summer. It was originally raised in Van Geert's nursery at Ghent in 1843.
- Quercus robur 'Pendula' ("Weeping Oak"), a small to medium sized tree with pendulous branches, reaching up to 15 m.
- Quercus robur 'Purpurea' is another cultivar growing to 10 m, but with purple coloured leaves.
- Quercus robur 'Filicifolia' ("Cut-leaved Oak") is a cultivar where the leaf is pinnately divided into fine forward pointing segments.
Along with the naturally occurring
Q. × rosacea, several
hybrids with other white oak species have also been produced in cultivation, including Turner's Oak
Q. × turnerii, Heritage Oak
Q. × macdanielli, and Two Worlds Oak
Q. × bimundorum, the latter two developed by nurseries in the
United States.
Q. × bimundorum (Q. alba × Q. robur) (Two Worlds Oak)
Q. × macdanielli (Q. macrocarpa × Q. robur) (Heritage Oak)
Q. × rosacea Bechst. (Q. petraea x Q. robur), a hybrid of the Sessile Oak and English Oak. It is usually of intermediate character between its parents, however it does occasionally exhibit more pronounced characteristics of one or the other parent.
Q. × turnerii Willd. (Q. ilex × Q. robur) (Turner's Oak), a semi-evergreen tree of small to medium size with a rounded crown; it was originally raised at Mr. Turner's nursery, Essex, UK, in 1783. An early specimen is at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; see (External Link).
Q. × wareii (Q. robur fastigiata x Q. bicolor), a hybrid between Upright English Oak and the Swamp White Oak. The Selections within this hybrid include the (Regal Prince) 'Long'(External Link) cultivar and the (Kindred Spirit) 'Nadler' cultivar see Kindred Spirit Hybrid Oak with photos.
Images
Image:Illustration Quercus robur0.jpg|English Oak - from Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885.
Image:Quercus robur early flowers.jpg|Flowers
Image:Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’.JPG|Fastigiate English Oak Quercus robur 'Fastigiata', Knightshayes Court.
Image:Quercus robur 'Concordia'.JPG|Golden English Oak Quercus robur 'Concordia', Wilton House.
Image:Quercus robur 'Pendula'.JPG|Weeping English Oak Quercus robur 'Pendula', Hillersdon House.
Image:Crooked branches of Quercus robur.jpg|Crooked branches of Quercus robur, Serbia.
Image:Large penduculate oak, Serbia.jpg|Large penduculate oak, Serbia.
Image:Saeuleneiche_Quercus_robur_Fastigiata.jpg|Quercus robur f. fastigiata
Image:Liernu JPG01c.jpg|The oldest pedunculate oak of the Benelux - Eghezée (Belgium)
Image:Stelmužė oak.jpg|The oldest tree in the Baltic states - the Stelmužė Oak, Lithuania
Image:Upright English Oak Quercus robur cv. Fastigiata Bark 2000px.jpg|'Fastigiata' Bark in detail
Image:Upright English Oak Quercus robur cv. Fastigiata Leaves 2600px.jpg|'Fastigiata' Leaf clusters in a tree
Image:Kindred Spirit® Hybrid Oak.jpg|Kindred Spirit Hybrid Oak(Q. robur fastigiata x Q. bicolor)
Curiosities
The question for 1 million British pounds in UK series of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was about pedunculate oak: If you planted the seeds of 'quercus robur', what would grow? A: Trees B: Flowers C: Vegetables D: Grain. The player chose the correct answer and won 1 million pounds.Further Information
Get more info on 'Pedunculate Oak'.
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