Envoy at 08:45, 27 April 2007

2007-04-27T08:45:45Z

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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Pedunculate Oak
| image = Quercus robur.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Leaves and acorns; note the long acorn stems
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| phylum = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fagales]]
| familia = [[Fagaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Oak|Quercus]]''
| species = '''''Q. robur'''''
| binomial = ''Quercus robur''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}

The '''Pedunculate Oak''' (or ''Quercus robur'') is native to most of [[Europe]], and to [[Asia Minor]] to the [[Caucasus]], and also to parts of North [[Africa]].

It is the type species of the genus (the species by which the [[oak]] genus ''Quercus'' is defined), and a member of the [[List of Quercus species#Section Quercus|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.

[[Image:bag_oak_july06.JPG|thumb|left|An old Pedunculate Oak in [[Baginton]], England]]
It is a large [[deciduous]] [[tree]] 25–35 m tall (exceptionally to 40 m), with lobed and nearly sessile (very short-stalked) leaves 7–14 cm long. Flowering takes place in mid spring, and their fruit, called [[acorn]]s, ripen by autumn of the same year. 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 [[pollarding|pollarded]] or [[coppice]]d, 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.[http://www5.h.lst.se/lansfakta/natur/u_nm/rumskullaeken.htm] 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.

A close relative is the [[Sessile Oak]] (''Quercus petraea''), which shares much of its range. Pedunculate Oak 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 [[hybrid]]ise in the wild, the hybrid being known as ''Quercus × rosacea''.

Within its native range it is valued for its importance to [[insect]]s and other wildlife. Numerous insects live on the leaves, buds, and in the acorns. The acorns form a valuable food resource for several small [[mammal]]s and some birds, notably [[Eurasian Jay]]s ''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 ''Quercus 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 [[cultivar]]s are grown in [[Arboretum|arboreta]] and in [[park]]s and [[garden]]s. 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 com
mon 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 [[hybrid]]s 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'' ([[White Oak|''Q. alba'']] × ''Q. robur'') (Two Worlds Oak)
*''Q. × macdanielli'' ([[Bur Oak|''Q. macrocarpa'']] × ''Q. robur'') (Heritage Oak)
*''Q. × rosacea'' [[Johann Matthäus Bechstein|Bechst.]] ([[Sessile Oak|''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'' [[Carl Ludwig Willdenow|Willd.]] ([[Holm Oak|''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 [http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/plants/trees/turnersoak.html].

==Images==
<gallery>
Image:Illustration Quercus robur0.jpg|English Oak - from Thomé, ''Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz'' 1885.
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]])
</gallery>

==References==
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Quercus&SPECIES_XREF=robur&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Quercus robur'']
*Bean, W. J. (1976). ''Trees and shrubs hardy in the British Isles'' 8th ed., revised. John Murray.
*Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. HarperCollins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
*{{fr}} [http://jeanlouis.helardot.free.fr/page_chenes/quercus_robur.htm Chênes: ''Quercus robur'']

{{Commons|Quercus robur}}

[[Category:Fagaceae|Oak, Pedunculate]]
[[Category:Flora of Estonia]]

{{Link FA|eo}}
{{Link FA|pl}}

Pedunculate Oak - Revision history

Envoy at 08:45, 27 April 2007