45-559: (Redirected from Oak Leaves ) [REDACTED] Look up oak leaf in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Oak leaf or Oakleaf may refer to: Biology [ edit ] the leaf of an oak oak leaf lettuce , from the Lactuca sativa group Any member of the butterfly genus Kallima The species Kallima knyvetti Military [ edit ] Oak leaf cluster ,
90-585: A coffee substitute , particularly when coffee was unavailable or rationed. The Confederates in the American Civil War and Germans during World War I (when it was called Ersatz coffee), which were cut off from coffee supplies by Union and Allied blockades respectively, are particularly notable past instances of this use of acorns. Acorns are a traditional food of many indigenous peoples of North America, and long served an especially important role for Californian Native Americans , where
135-1056: A U.S. military decoration A bronze oak leaf device, used to signify a Mention in Despatches in Commonwealth militaries A silver oak leaf device, used to signify the award of the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in Commonwealth militaries Oak leaves awarded to holders of some categories of the German Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Golden oak leaf, insignia of rank of Major (United States) Golden oak leaf, insignia of rank of Lieutenant commander (United States) Silver oak leaf, insignia of rank of Commander (United States) Silver oak leaf, insignia of rank of Lieutenant colonel (United States) Golden oak leaf, insignia of
180-458: A large influence on small rodents in their habitats , as large acorn yields help rodent populations to grow. Large mammals such as pigs, bears, and deer also consume large amounts of acorns; they may constitute up to 25% of the diet of deer in the autumn. In Spain, Portugal and the New Forest region of southern England, pigs are still turned loose in dehesas (large oak groves ) in
225-439: A long time, much as squirrels do. In years that oaks produced many acorns, Native Americans sometimes collected enough acorns to store for two years as insurance against poor acorn production years. After drying in the sun to discourage mould and germination , acorns could be cached in hollow trees or structures on poles to keep them safe from mice and squirrels. Stored acorns could then be used when needed, particularly during
270-559: A minimum of 20–30 m (70–100 ft) from the parent tree . Many animals eat unripe acorns on the tree or ripe acorns from the ground, with no reproductive benefit to the oak, but some animals, such as squirrels and jays serve as seed dispersal agents. Jays and squirrels that scatter-hoard acorns in caches for future use effectively plant acorns in a variety of locations in which it is possible for them to germinate and thrive. Even though jays and squirrels retain remarkably large mental maps of cache locations and return to consume them,
315-633: A narrow belt along the Himalayas to cover mainland and island Southeast Asia as far as Sumatra , Java , Borneo , and Palawan . Finally, oaks of multiple sections ( Cyclobalanopsis , Ilex , Cerris , Quercus and related genera like Lithocarpus and Castanopsis ) extend across east Asia including China, Korea, and Japan. Potential records of Quercus have been reported from Late Cretaceous deposits in North America and East Asia. These are not considered definitive, as macrofossils older than
360-485: A range of flavours, colours, and aromas. The spongy bark of the cork oak is used to make traditional wine bottle corks. Almost a third of oak species are threatened with extinction due to climate change, invasive pests , and habitat loss . In culture, the oak tree is a symbol of strength and serves as the national tree of many countries. In Indo-European and related religions, the oak is associated with thunder gods . Individual oak trees of cultural significance include
405-508: A single oak tree produces both staminate ('male') flowers in the form of catkins , and small pistillate ('female') flowers, meaning that the trees are monoecious . The fruit is a nut called an acorn , borne in a cup-like structure known as a cupule ; each acorn usually contains one seed and takes 6–18 months to mature, depending on the species. The acorns and leaves contain tannic acid , which helps to guard against fungi and insects. There are some 500 extant species of oaks. Trees in
450-557: A small area of the west of Cuba ; in Mesoamerica it occurs mainly above 1000 metres. The genus crossed the isthmus of Panama when the northern and southern continents came together and is present as one species, Q. humboldtii , above 1000 metres in Colombia. The oaks of North America are of many sections ( Protobalanus , Lobatae , Ponticae , Quercus , and Virentes ) along with related genera such as Notholithocarpus . In
495-666: A source of food for many cultures around the world. For instance, the Ancient Greek lower classes and the Japanese (during the Jōmon period) would eat acorns, especially in times of famine. In ancient Iberia they were a staple food, according to Strabo . Despite this history, acorns rarely form a large part of modern diets and are not currently cultivated on scales approaching that of many other nuts. However, if properly prepared (by selecting high-quality specimens and leaching out
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#1732772749055540-535: Is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family . They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn , borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere; it includes some 500 species, both deciduous and evergreen . Fossil oaks date back to the Middle Eocene . Molecular phylogeny shows that the genus
585-471: Is divided into Old World and New World clades , but many oak species hybridise freely, making the genus's history difficult to resolve. Ecologically, oaks are keystone species in habitats from Mediterranean semi-desert to subtropical rainforest . They live in association with many kinds of fungi including truffles . Oaks support more than 950 species of caterpillar , many kinds of gall wasp which form distinctive galls , roundish woody lumps such as
630-452: Is from Old English ac (seen in placenames such as Acton , from ac + tun , "oak village" ), which in turn is from Proto-Germanic *aiks , "oak". Oaks are hardwood ( dicotyledonous ) trees, deciduous or evergreen, with spirally arranged leaves , often with lobate margins ; some have serrated leaves or entire leaves with smooth margins. Many deciduous species are marcescent , not dropping dead leaves until spring. In spring,
675-434: Is made from acorns, and dotori guksu are Korean noodles made from acorn flour or starch. In the 17th century, a juice extracted from acorns was administered to habitual drunkards to cure them of their condition or else to give them the strength to resist another bout of drinking. Roasted acorn flour is a main ingredient in sweet cakes special to Kurdish areas of Iran and Iraq . Acorns have frequently been used as
720-457: Is particularly true of the acorns of American red oaks and English oaks . The acorns of white oaks , being much lower in tannins, are nutty in flavor; this characteristic is enhanced if the acorns are given a light roast before grinding. Tannins can be removed by soaking chopped acorns in several changes of water, until the water no longer turns brown. Cold water leaching can take several days, but three to four changes of boiling water can leach
765-457: Is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera Quercus , Notholithocarpus and Lithocarpus , in the family Fagaceae ). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), enclosed in a tough shell known as the pericarp, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule . Acorns are 1–6 cm ( 1 ⁄ 2 – 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) long and 0.8–4 cm ( 3 ⁄ 8 – 1 + 5 ⁄ 8 in) on
810-643: The Paleogene , and possibly from before the Eocene are mostly poorly preserved without critical features for certain identification. Amongst the oldest unequivocal records of Quercus are pollen from Austria, dating to the Paleocene -Eocene boundary, around 55 million years ago. The oldest records of Quercus in North America are from Oregon , dating to the Middle Eocene, around 44 million years ago, with
855-853: The Royal Oak in Britain, the Charter Oak in the United States, and the Guernica Oak in the Basque Country . The generic name Quercus is Latin for "oak", derived from Proto-Indo-European *kwerkwu- , "oak", which is also the origin of the name " fir ", another important or sacred tree in Indo-European culture. The word "cork", for the bark of the cork oak , similarly derives from Quercus . The common name "oak"
900-436: The oak apple , and a large number of pests and diseases. Oak leaves and acorns contain enough tannin to be toxic to cattle, but pigs are able to digest them safely. Oak timber is strong and hard, and has found many uses in construction and furniture-making. The bark was traditionally used for tanning leather . Wine barrels are made of oak; these are used for aging alcoholic beverages such as sherry and whisky , giving them
945-706: The Old World, oaks of section Quercus extend across the whole of Europe including European Russia apart from the far north, and north Africa (north of the Sahara) from Morocco to Libya. In Mediterranean Europe, they are joined by oaks of the sections Cerris and Ilex , which extend across Turkey, the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan , while section Ponticae is endemic to the western Caucasus in Turkey and Georgia . Oaks of section Cyclobalanopsis extend in
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#1732772749055990-749: The United States Navy Supply Corps Geography [ edit ] County Londonderry , Northern Ireland, nicknamed 'the Oak Leaf County' Oak Leaf, Texas , a city Oakleaf Lake , a lake in Minnesota Others [ edit ] RFA Oakleaf , Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship names Oakleaf Brewery , a brewery in England Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
1035-494: The acorn symbol is used as an ornament on cutlery , furniture, and jewelry; it also appears on finials at Westminster Abbey . In the Artemis Fowl book series, "The Ritual" describes the method used by faeries to regenerate their magical powers. The acorn was used frequently by both Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War . Modern US Army Cavalry Scout campaign hats still retain traces of
1080-609: The autumn, to fill and fatten themselves on acorns. Heavy consumption of acorns can, on the other hand, be toxic to other animals that cannot detoxify their tannins , such as horses and cattle, especially if eaten in excess. The larvae of some moths and weevils also live in young acorns, consuming the kernels as they develop. Acorns are attractive to animals because they are large and thus efficiently consumed or cached. Acorns are also rich in nutrients. Percentages vary from species to species, but all acorns contain large amounts of protein , carbohydrates and fats , as well as
1125-482: The bitter tannins in water), acorn meal can be used in some recipes calling for grain flours. In antiquity, Pliny the Elder noted that acorn flour could be used to make bread. Varieties of oak differ in the amount of tannin in their acorns. Varieties preferred by Native Americans, such as Quercus kelloggii (California black oak), may be easier to prepare or more palatable. In Korea, an edible jelly named dotorimuk
1170-493: The fat side. Acorns take between 5 and 24 months (depending on the species) to mature; see the list of Quercus species for details of oak classification, in which acorn morphology and phenology are important factors. The word acorn (earlier akerne , and acharn ) is related to the Gothic name akran , which had the sense of "fruit of the unenclosed land". The word was applied to the most important forest produce, that of
1215-404: The genus Quercus consisted of Old World and New World clades. The entire genome of Quercus robur (the pedunculate oak) has been sequenced , revealing an array of mutations that may underlie the evolution of longevity and disease resistance in oaks. In addition, hundreds of oak species have been compared (at RAD-seq loci), allowing a detailed phylogeny to be constructed. However,
1260-641: The genus are often large and slow-growing; Q. alba can reach an age of 600 years, a diameter of 13 feet (4.0 m) and a height of 145 feet (44 m). The Granit oak in Bulgaria, a Q. robur specimen, has an estimated age of 1637 years, making it the oldest oak in Europe. The Wi'aaSal tree, a live oak in the reservation of the Pechanga Band of Indians , California, is at least 1000 years old, and might be as much as 2000 years old, which would make it
1305-1105: The high signal of introgressive hybridization (the transfer of genetic material by repeated backcrossing with hybrid offspring) in the genus has made it difficult to resolve an unambiguous, unitary history of oaks. The phylogeny from Hipp et al. 2019 is: CTB lineage [REDACTED] Cyclobalanoides Glauca [REDACTED] Acuta [REDACTED] Semiserrata East Asian Cerris [REDACTED] West Eurasian Cerris [REDACTED] Early-diverging Ilex [REDACTED] East Asian Ilex [REDACTED] Himalaya-Mediterranean [REDACTED] Himalayan subalpine [REDACTED] Agrifoliae [REDACTED] Palustres [REDACTED] Coccineae (Rubrae) [REDACTED] Phellos (Laurifoliae) [REDACTED] Texas red oaks [REDACTED] Erythromexicana [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Dumosae [REDACTED] Prinoids [REDACTED] Albae [REDACTED] Roburoids [REDACTED] Stellatae [REDACTED] Texas white oaks [REDACTED] Leucomexicana [REDACTED] Acorn The acorn
1350-565: The landscape. The volume of the acorn crop may vary widely, creating great abundance or great stress on the many animals dependent on acorns and the predators of those animals. Acorns, along with other nuts, are termed mast . Wildlife that consume acorns as an important part of their diets include birds, such as jays , pigeons , some ducks , and several species of woodpeckers . Small mammals that feed on acorns include mice , squirrels and several other rodents . One beetle species, Thorectes lusitanicus , also feeds on acorns. Acorns have
1395-511: The landscapes. Oaks produce more acorns when they are not too close to other oaks and thus competing with them for sunlight, water and soil nutrients. The fires tended to eliminate the more vulnerable young oaks and leave old oaks which created open oak savannas with trees ideally spaced to maximize acorn production. A motif in Roman architecture , also popular in Celtic and Scandinavian art,
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1440-519: The largest number of oak species, with approximately 160 species in Mexico, of which 109 are endemic, and about 90 in the United States. The second greatest area of oak diversity is China, with approximately 100 species. In the Americas, Quercus is widespread from Vancouver and Nova Scotia in the south of Canada, south to Mexico and across the whole of the eastern United States. It is present in
1485-431: The minerals calcium , phosphorus and potassium , and the vitamin niacin . Total food energy in an acorn also varies by species, but all compare well with other wild foods and with other nuts. Acorns also contain bitter tannins , the amount varying with the species. Since tannins, which are plant polyphenols , interfere with an animal's ability to metabolize protein, creatures must adapt in different ways to use
1530-424: The nutrients bound in dead leaves and other plant debris into the soil, thus fertilizing oak trees while clearing the ground to make acorn collection easier. Most North American oaks tolerate light fires, especially when consistent burning has eliminated woody fuel accumulation around their trunks. Consistent burning encouraged oak growth at the expense of other trees less tolerant of fire, thus keeping oaks dominant in
1575-689: The nutritional value acorns contain. Animals may preferentially select acorns that contain fewer tannins. When the tannins are metabolized in cattle, the tannic acid produced can cause ulceration and kidney failure. Animals that cache acorns, such as jays and squirrels, may wait to consume some of these acorns until sufficient groundwater has percolated through them to leach out the tannins. Other animals buffer their acorn diet with other foods. Many insects, birds, and mammals metabolize tannins with fewer ill effects than do humans. Species of acorn that contain large amounts of tannins are very bitter, astringent , and potentially irritating if eaten raw. This
1620-619: The oak family. Once acorns sprout, they are less nutritious, as the seed tissue converts to the indigestible lignins that form the root. In some cultures, acorns once constituted a dietary staple , though they have largely been replaced by grains and are now typically considered a relatively unimportant food, except in some Native American and Korean communities. Several cultures have devised traditional acorn-leaching methods, sometimes involving specialized tools, that were traditionally passed on to their children by word of mouth. Acorns served an important role in early human history and were
1665-412: The oak. Chaucer spoke of "achornes of okes" in the 14th century. By degrees, popular etymology connected the word both with "corn" and "oak-horn", and the spelling changed accordingly. The current spelling (emerged c. 15th–16th century) derives from association with ac (Old English: "oak") + corn . Acorns play an important role in forest ecology when oaks are plentiful or dominant in
1710-542: The odd acorn may be lost, or a jay or squirrel may die before consuming all of its stores. A small number of acorns manage to germinate and survive, producing the next generation of oaks. Scatter-hoarding behavior depends on jays and squirrels associating with plants that provide good packets of food that are nutritionally valuable, but not too big for the dispersal agent to handle. The beak sizes of jays determine how large acorns may get before jays ignore them. Acorns germinate on different schedules, depending on their place in
1755-504: The oldest oak in the US. Among the smallest oaks is Q. acuta , the Japanese evergreen oak. It forms a bush or small tree to a height of some 30 feet (9.1 m). The genus Quercus is native to the Northern Hemisphere and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in the Americas , Asia, Europe, and North Africa. North America has
1800-877: The oldest records in Asia from the Middle Eocene of Japan; both forms have affinities to the Cyclobalanopsis group. Quercus forms part, or rather two parts, of the Quercoideae subfamily of the Fagaceae , the beech family. Modern molecular phylogenetics suggests the following relationships: Fagus (beeches) Trigonobalanus (3 evergreen species) Lithocarpus (stone oaks) Chrysolepis (chinquapins) Quercus pro parte Notholithocarpus (tan oak) Quercus pro parte Castanopsis (also called chinquapins) Castanea (chestnuts) Molecular techniques for phylogenetic analysis show that
1845-455: The ranges of several species of oaks overlap, increasing the reliability of the resource. One ecology researcher of Yurok and Karuk heritage reports that "his traditional acorn preparation is a simple soup, cooked with hot stones directly in a basket," and says he enjoys acorns eaten with "grilled salmon , huckleberries or seaweed ." Unlike many other plant foods, acorns do not need to be eaten or processed right away, but may be stored for
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1890-421: The tannins in under an hour. Hot water leaching (boiling) cooks the starch of the acorn, which would otherwise act like gluten in flour, helping it bind to itself. For this reason, if the acorns will be used to make flour, then cold water leaching is preferred. Being rich in fat, acorn flour can spoil or molder easily and must be carefully stored. Acorns are also sometimes prepared as a massage oil. Acorns of
1935-486: The title Oak Leaf . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oak_Leaf&oldid=1238397836 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Oak See also List of Quercus species . An oak
1980-464: The white oak group, Leucobalanus , typically start rooting as soon as they are in contact with the soil (in the fall), then send up the leaf shoot in the spring. Acorns are too heavy for wind dispersal , so they require other ways to spread. Oaks therefore depend on biological seed dispersal agents to move the acorns beyond the mother tree and into a suitable area for germination (including access to adequate water, sunlight and soil nutrients), ideally
2025-479: The winter when other resources were scarce. Acorns that germinated in the fall were shelled and pulverized before those germinating in spring. Because of their high fat content, stored acorns can become rancid. Moulds may also grow on them. The lighting of ground fires killed the larvae of acorn moths and acorn weevils by burning them during their dormancy period in the soil. The pests can infest and consume more than 95% of an oak's acorns. Fires also released
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