Quercus suber occidentalis
Cork Oak
a perennial woody evergreen member of the Quercus genus in the family Fagaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - cooked[1]. A famine food[4]. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread. The seed contains bitter tannins, these can be leached out by thoroughly washing the seed in running water though many minerals will also be lost. Either the whole seed can be used or the seed can be dried and ground it into a powder. It can take several days or even weeks to properly leach whole seeds, one method was to wrap them in a cloth bag and place them in a stream. Leaching the powder is quicker. A simple taste test can tell when the tannin has been leached. The traditional method of preparing the seed was to bury it in boggy ground overwinter. The germinating seed was dug up in the spring when it would have lost most of its astringency. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.
- Product or use
- Coffee
- Plant part
- Seed
Medicinal uses
Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc[7].
- Product or use
- Astringent
Material uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
A mulch of the leaves repels slugs, grubs etc, though fresh leaves should not be used as these can inhibit plant growth. Oak galls are excrescences that are sometimes produced in great numbers on the tree and are caused by the activity of the larvae of different insects. The insects live inside these galls, obtaining their nutrient therein. When the insect pupates and leaves, the gall can be used as a rich source of tannin, that can also be used as a dyestuff[7]. Bark is the source of cork, it is much used for heat and sound insulation, flooring, floats etc. Trees are first harvested when they are 25 - 30 years old[11], and then harvested every 6 - 12 years[3]. The bark must be removed carefully so as not to harm the tree. A large tree can yield up to 1 tonne of cork. Wood.
- Product or use
- Cork
- Product or use
- Repellent
- Product or use
- Tannin
- Product or use
- Wood
Ecology and functions
- Ecosystem niche
- Canopy
Environment
- Range
- S. Europe to N. Africa.
- Habitat
- Siliceous hills on the littoral[13].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 8+
- Soil textures
- loamy, clay, heavy clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Tolerances
- high wind
- Wind
- Yes
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - it quickly loses viability if it is allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool overwinter but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed, though it must be protected from mice, squirrels etc. Small quantities of seed can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Plants produce a deep taproot and need to be planted out into their permanent positions as soon as possible, in fact seed sown in situ will produce the best trees[2]. Trees should not be left in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons without being moved or they will transplant very badly.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side[2]. Lime tolerant[5]. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade[6]. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted[6]. Cultivated for its bark in Europe, it is the main source of cork[9][13]. This sub-species has slightly thinner bark than the species[2].Trees are first harvested when they are 25 - 30 years old and are then harvested on a 10 - 12 year rotation. Only hardy in the milder areas of Britain[6], it is not very frost resistant[14]. This sub-species is somewhat hardier than the type[2]. Trees grow well in Cornwall where there are many large specimens[2][8][10]. There is at least one large healthy specimen of this tree at Kew, it produced some seeds in the hot summer of 1989[K]. Transplants badly unless it is moved regularly, it should only be moved in September or as growth commences in late spring[2]. Does not fruit well in Britain. Most of the trees grown in Britain as Q. suber are in fact this sub-species[2]. Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus[6]. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[12][6].
References
Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00
Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00
Rosengarten. jnr. F. The Book of Edible Nuts. Walker & Co. 1984-00-00 ISBN 0802707699
Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169
Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984-00-00 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Arnold-Forster. Shrubs for the Milder Counties.
? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964-00-00
Thurston. Trees and Shrubs in Cornwall.
Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00
RHS. The Garden. Volume 112. Royal Horticultural Society 1987-00-00
Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press 1987-00-00 ISBN 0-7012-0784-1
Gordon. A. G. and Rowe. D. C. f. Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs.