The iconic Oak tree has been used for centuries as construction timber and for fine carpentry. Many old buildings are built using hand-cut timber from mature Oak trees. It was no mean feat to work this very heavy dense wood.
Latin
Quercus Robur – Commonly known as Common oak, English oak, French oak or Pedunculate oak
The shape of the Common Oak Tree?
The iconic shape of the Oak is has found a place in our hearts. When we think of a tree the first thing that comes to mind is the symbolic Oak. The large bulbous top growth of the Oak is placed upon a substantial trunk with coarse bark. The bark is deep, like the skin of a crocodile.
What is Oak Leaves Like?
The Oak Leaves on the Common Oak as found in France or anywhere in Europe. Considering there are over 600 species of Oak trees with some variation of leaf shapes. The typical Oak flourishes multiple lobed green leaves.
What is the Bark like on the Common Oak?
The Oak has a deeply furrowed bark. The bark of the Oak is similar to a just ploughed field or the skin of a crocodile.
How does the Oak Reproduce?
Oak Trees are wind-pollinated. In the spring we will see the early stages of the male flowers. They develop during the summer ready for the female flowers late winter to the following spring. 3 months after fertilisation a seed develops in the form of an Acorn.
How Big is the Oak Tree?
An Oak Tree can grow to 40m or 100ft in height. The trunk on a mature trunk can be over a meter or 3ft in breadth.
How Long Will an Oak Tree Live?
An Oak on average can live around 200 years but an Oak tree can live to over 1000 years. It takes about 100 years for the Oak to be fully grown.
When we lived in the UK we had an Oak tree that was over 100 years old but that could be considered a baby!
Oak Tree Popular Uses
Oaks trees have been with us forever and we have used the tree for many purposes. From Houses to furniture. Today the Oak has been superseded by softwoods or other fast-growing farmed timbers. Well, we don’t use Oak anymore to build ships so the species stands a chance to survive unlike the building of the Spanish Armada.
Oak Trees Suffer from Oak Wilt Fungus
There is a myriad of different fungus affecting trees. The common Oak Wilt fungus is a mushroom which survives on a host.
Generally, Fungus spreads by the spores becoming airborne. While most spores flying through the air will most likely end up unsuccessful. But it only takes a few to infect open wounds on the Oak.
Oak Wilt does not spread with the spores become airborne. Oak Wilt has a partner in crime. A particular Beetle which feeds on tree sap carries the spores from the dead host to the open wound of the unaffected Oak.
Oak Wilt can infect a new host by underground root grafts.
Treating Oak Wilt Fungus
Treatment for affected Oaks is difficult but necessary. If to save the Oak population of a forest is important. This Fungal condition can be controlled by removing dead trees and destroying by incineration.
Root grafts have to be severed and this can be done mechanically with a vibrating plough.
The affected woodland will have an epicentre. All trees to a safe distance from the epicentre will need removing. Care must be taken to prevent infection of surrounding areas. If off-site removal is suggested all debris must be bagged and sealed before transportation. It may be illegal to depose off-site so check with local codes first.
Ethical Harvesting of the Oak Tree
Oak is a slow-growing tree and harvesting it should be done in a way that prevents its demise. Some trees, when cutting down, will regrow and mature to harvestable timber the process is called coppicing. You cannot coppice Oak and expect it to regrow as it will just die.
You would hope timber certified by a regulatory organisation such as the FSC or the PEFC that our effort to certify timber was unnecessary. But sadly we still need to take a little care as it is thought that some illegal logging still happens in Europe and other countries.
In particular, Spain and Portugal would do better to enforce the practice of ethical felling.
Oak is a timber that is very resilient and without a lot of abuse and resists the elements relatively well. With this in mind Oak lumber recycled from old barns, for instance, can help. Recycle timber does give us a different approach to aesthetics.