44-453: The Major Oak is a large English oak ( Quercus robur ) near the village of Edwinstowe in the midst of Sherwood Forest , Nottinghamshire , England. According to local folklore , it was Robin Hood 's shelter where he and his merry men slept. It weighs an estimated 23 tons, has a girth of 33 feet (10 metres), a canopy of 92 feet (28 metres), and is about 800–1,000 years old. In 2014, it
88-692: A circumference of 10.86 m (35.6 ft) (in 2018) and the Kaive Oak in Latvia with a circumference of 10.2 m (33 ft) are among the thickest trees in Northern Europe . The largest historical oak was known as the Imperial Oak from Bosnia and Herzegovina. This specimen was recorded at 17.5 m in circumference at breast height and estimated at over 150 m³ in total volume. It collapsed in 1998. Two individuals of notable longevity are
132-771: A circumference of 4 m (13 ft) and more is in Latvia. In Ireland, at Birr Castle , a specimen over 400 years old has a girth of 6.5 m (21 ft), known as the Carroll Oak. In the Basque Country (Spain and France), the ' tree of Gernika ' is an ancient oak tree located in Gernika , under which the Lehendakari (Basque prime minister) swears his oath of office. The largest example in Australia
176-486: A fallen oak. In Germany, the oak tree can be found in several paintings of Caspar David Friedrich and in "Of the life of a Good-For-Nothing" written by Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff as a symbol of the state protecting every citizen. In Serbia the oak is a national symbol, having been part of the historical coat of arms of the Socialist Republic of Serbia , the historical coat of arms and flags of
220-527: A few simple hairs on the lower surface. They are dark green above, paler below, and are often covered in small disks of spangle gall by autumn. Flowering takes place in spring (early May in England). It is wind-pollinated. The male flowers occur in narrow catkins some 2–4 cm ( 3 ⁄ 4 – 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) long and arranged in small bunches; the female flowers are small, brown with dark red stigmas, about 2 mm in diameter and are found at
264-568: A person illegally attempted to sell acorns claimed to be from the Major Oak on an internet-based auction website. In 2003, in Dorset a plantation was started of 260 saplings grown from acorns of the Major Oak. The purpose was to provide publicity for an internet-based study of the Major Oak, its history, photographic record, variation in size and leafing of the saplings, comparison of their DNA , and an eventual public amenity. The Major Oak
308-447: A three-foot section of bark fallen off. English oak Quercus robur , the pedunculate oak or English oak , is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae . It is a large tree, native to most of Europe and western Asia , and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It grows on soils of near neutral acidity in the lowlands and is notable for its value to natural ecosystems, supporting
352-516: A tree, causing the trunk to grow large and thick.) However, there is only limited evidence for this theory as none of the other trees in the surrounding area were pollarded. This enormous tree is commonly thought to be the UK's second-largest oak tree, only truly surpassed by the gigantic Majesty Oak near Dover. Support chains were first fitted to the tree in 1908, and its massive limbs have been partially supported by an elaborate system of scaffolding since
396-404: A valuable food resource for several small mammals and some birds, notably Eurasian jays Garrulus glandarius . Jays were overwhelmingly the primary propagators of oaks before humans began planting them commercially (and remain the principal propagators for wild oaks), because of their habit of taking acorns from the umbra of its parent tree and burying them undamaged elsewhere. Quercus robur
440-521: A very wide diversity of herbivorous insects and other pests, predators and pathogens. Quercus robur is a deciduous tree up to 40 metres (130 ft) tall, with a single stout trunk that can be as much as 11 m (36 ft) in girth (circumference at breast height) or even 14 m (46 ft) in pollarded specimens. Older trees tend to be pollarded, with boles (the main trunk) 2–3 m ( 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 –10 ft) long. These live longer and become more stout than unpollarded trees. The crown
484-765: Is a form of dispersal vector that allows plants to spread to habitats that favor their survival and growth. Some species, such as poplars and blackthorn , produce root sprouts that can spread rapidly, and they can form thick mats of roots that can reclaim areas that have been cleared of vegetation by logging, erosion, pasturing. These plants could be considered invasive , but they are cultivated or permitted to grow to stabilize soils and even to then be naturally replaced by non-pioneer species in locations as such those that have been developed for public works and along channels of waterways that may flood and reservoirs . These plants form shaded areas wherein new species may grow and gradually replace them. Stolons are stems that grow on
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#1732780079989528-419: Is a severable plant that grows not from a seed but from the meristem of a root at the base of or a certain distance from the original tree or shrub . Root sprouts may emerge a substantial distance from the base of the originating plant, are a form of vegetative dispersal , and may form a patch that constitutes a habitat in which that surculose plant is the dominant species. Root sprouts also may grow from
572-453: Is called "chêne pédonculé". The genome of Q. robur has been completely sequenced (GenOak project); the first version was published in 2016. It comprises 12 chromosome pairs (2n = 24), about 26,000 genes and 750 million bp . There are many synonyms, and numerous varieties and subspecies have been named. The populations in Iberia, Italy, southeast Europe, and Asia Minor and
616-503: Is in Donnybrook , Western Australia . Basal shoot Basal shoots , root sprouts , adventitious shoots , and suckers are words for various kinds of shoots that grow from adventitious buds on the base of a tree or shrub , or from adventitious buds on its roots . Shoots that grow from buds on the base of a tree or shrub are called basal shoots; these are distinguished from shoots that grow from adventitious buds on
660-460: Is most likely to be confused with sessile oak , which shares much of its range. Distinguishing features of Q. robur include the auricles at the leaf base, the very short petiole, its clusters of acorns being borne on a long peduncle, and the lack of stellate hairs on the underside of the leaf. The two often hybridise in the wild, forming Quercus × rosacea . Turkey oak is also sometimes confused with it, but that species has "whiskers" on
704-560: 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 identified by a close examination of a 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 (around 0.5 mm or 1 ⁄ 64 inch in diameter). There are rays of thin (about 0.1 mm or 1 ⁄ 256 in) yellow or light brown lines running across
748-565: Is rare on thin, well-drained calcareous (chalk and limestone) soil. Sometimes it is found on the margins of swamps, rivers and ponds, showing that it is fairly tolerant of intermittent flooding. Its Ellenberg values in Britain are L = 7, F = 5, R = 5, N = 4, and S = 0. Within its native range, Q. robur is valued for its importance to insects and other wildlife, supporting the highest biodiversity of insect herbivores of any British plant (at least 400 species). The most well-known of these are
792-443: Is spreading and unevenly domed, and trees often have massive lower branches. The bark is greyish-brown and closely grooved, with vertical plates. There are often large burrs on the trunk, which typically produce many small shoots. Oaks do not produce suckers but do recover well from pruning or lightning damage. The twigs are hairless and the buds are rounded (ovoid), brownish and pointed. The leaves are arranged alternately along
836-794: The Milky Way . The oak tree also had a symbolic value in France. Some oaks were considered sacred by the Gauls ; druids would cut down the mistletoe growing on them . Even after Christianization , oak trees were considered to protect as lightning would strike them rather than on nearby inhabitation. Such struck trees would often be turned into places of worship, like the Chêne chapelle . In 1746, all oak trees in Finland were legally classified as royal property, and oaks had enjoyed legal protection already from
880-591: The Principality of Serbia , as well as the current traditional coat of arms and flag of Vojvodina . In England, the oak has assumed the status of a national emblem. This has its origins in the oak tree at Boscobel House , where the future King Charles II hid from his Parliamentarian pursuers in 1650 during the English Civil War ; the tree has since been known as the Royal Oak . This event
924-701: The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , who found that there were 115 oaks (of both species) in England with a circumference of 9 m or more, compared with just 96 in Europe. This is attributed to the persistence of mediaeval deer parks in the landscape. The Majesty Oak, with a circumference of 12.2 m (40 ft), is the thickest such tree in Great Britain . The Brureika ( Bridal Oak ) in Norway with
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#1732780079989968-798: The Stelmužė Oak in Lithuania and the Granit Oak in Bulgaria , which are believed to be more than 1500 years old, possibly making them the oldest oaks 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 Kvilleken , Sweden , that is over 1000 years old and 14 m (46 ft) around. Of maiden (not pollarded) specimens, one of
1012-584: The 17th century. The oak is also the regional tree of the Southwest Finland region. During the French Revolution , oaks were often planted as trees of freedom . One such tree, planted during the 1848 Revolution , survived the destruction of Oradour-sur-Glane by the Nazis . After the announcement of General Charles de Gaulle 's death, caricaturist Jacques Faizant represented him as
1056-640: The 1970s. In 1974, fences were installed around the tree to protect it from root damage, since the number of visitors to the tree was compacting the soil around it. The formation sign of the 46th Infantry Division of the British Army in the Second World War was the Major Oak. Among the units of the division were battalions of the Sherwood Foresters regiment. In a 2002 survey, it was voted "Britain's favourite tree". Also in 2002,
1100-490: The Caucasus are sometimes treated as separate species, Q. orocantabrica, Q. brutia Tenore, Q. pedunculiflora K. Koch and Q. haas Kotschy respectively. Quercus × rosacea Bechst. ( Q. petraea x Q. robur ) is the only naturally-occurring hybrid, but the following crosses with other white oak species have been produced in cultivation: There are numerous cultivars available, among which
1144-470: The Croatian 5 lipa coin; on old German Deutsche Mark currency (1 through 10 Pfennigs; the 50 Pfennigs coin showed a woman planting an oak seedling), and now on German-issued euro currency coins (1 through 5 cents); and on British pound coins (1987 and 1992 issues). It is often claimed that England has more ancient oaks than the rest of Europe combined. This is based on research by Aljos Farjon at
1188-560: The age of the tree, with blue tits and great tits timing their egg hatching to the leaves opening. The most common caterpillar species include the winter moth , the green tortrix and the mottled umber , all of which can become extremely abundant on the first flush of leaves in May, but the oak trees do recover their foliage later in the year. The acorns are typically produced in large quantities every other year (unlike Q. petraea , which produces large crops only every 4-10 years) and form
1232-419: The following are commonly grown: The species is native to most of Europe and western Asia , and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It is a long-lived tree of high-canopy woodland, coppice and wood pasture, and it is commonly planted in hedges. When compared to sessile oak, it is more abundant in the lowlands of the south and east of Britain, and it occurs on more neutral (less acid) soils. It
1276-510: The growth rings. The timber is around 720 kilograms (1,590 pounds) per cubic meter in density. In the Scandinavian countries, oaks were considered the " thunderstorm trees", representing Thor , the god of thunder. A Finnish myth is that the World tree , a great oak which grew to block the movement of the sky, sunlight and moonlight, had to be felled, releasing its magic, thus creating
1320-660: The name of eight major Royal Navy warships. The naval associations are strengthened by the fact that oak was the main construction material for sailing warships. The Royal Navy was often described as "The Wooden Walls of Old England" (a paraphrase of the Delphic Oracle ) and the Navy's official quick march is " Heart of Oak ". In folklore, the Major Oak is where Robin Hood is purported to have taken shelter. Oak leaves (not necessarily of this species) have been depicted on
1364-585: 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. Also the Bowthorpe Oak in Lincolnshire , England is estimated to be 1,000 years old, making it the oldest in the UK, although there is Knightwood Oak in the New Forest that is also said to be as old. The highest density of Q. robur with
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1408-462: The ones that form galls, which number about 35. In Britain, the knopper gall is very common, and Andricus grossulariae produces somewhat similar spiky galls on the acorn cups. Also common in Britain are two types of spherical galls on the twigs: the oak marble gall and the cola nut gall . The latter are smaller and rougher than the former. A single, large exit hole indicates that the wasp inside has escaped, whereas several smaller holes show that it
1452-444: The originating plant comprise a single genetic individual, i. e., a genet . The individual root sprouts are clones of the original plant, and each has a genome that is identical to that of the originating plant from which it grew. Many species of plants reproduce through vegetative reproduction, e. g. Canada thistle , cherry , apple , guava , privet , hazel , lilac , tree of heaven , and Asimina triloba . The root sprout
1496-414: The roots of a tree or shrub, which may be called root sprouts or suckers. A plant that produces root sprouts or runners is described as surculose . Water sprouts produced by adventitious buds may occur on the above-ground stem, branches or both of trees and shrubs. Suckers are shoots arising underground from the roots some distance from the base of a tree or shrub. In botany , a root sprout or sucker
1540-403: The roots of trees that have been felled. Tree roots ordinarily grow outward from their trunks a distance of 1.5 to 2 times their heights, and therefore root sprouts can emerge a substantial distance from the trunk. This is a phenomenon of natural " asexual reproduction ", also denominated " vegetative reproduction ". It is a strategy of plant propagation . The complex of clonal individuals and
1584-407: The surface of the soil or immediately below it and form adventitious roots at their nodes , and new clonal plants from the buds . Not all horizontal plant stems are stolons. Plants with stolons are described as "stoloniferous". Stolons, especially those above the surface of the soil are often denominated "runners". Rhizomes , in contrast, are root-like stems that may either grow horizontally on
1628-468: The surface of the soil or in other orientations underground. Root sprouts and basal shoots can be used to propagate woody plants. Root sprouts can be dug or severed with some of the roots still attached. As for basal shoots, stool beds involve cutting a juvenile plant proximate to the surface of the soil and heaping soil over the cut so that basal shoots will form adventitious roots and later can be severed to form multiple, rooted, new plants. The technique
1672-812: The tips of new shoots on peduncles 2–5 cm long. The fruits (acorns) are borne in clusters of 2–3 on a long peduncle (stalk) 4–8 cm long. Each acorn is 1.5–4 cm long, ovoid with a pointed tip, starting whitish-green and becoming brown, then black. As with all oaks, the acorns are carried in a shallow cup which can be distinctive in identifying the species. It is an "alternate bearing" species, its large crops produced every other year. Grandinin / roburin E , castalagin / vescalagin , gallic acid , monogalloyl glucose ( glucogallin ) and valoneic acid dilactone , monogalloyl glucose, digalloyl glucose , trigalloyl glucose , rhamnose , quercitrin and ellagic acid are phenolic compounds found in Q. robur . The heartwood contains triterpene saponins . Q. robur
1716-419: The twigs and are broadly oblong or ovate, 10–12 centimetres (4– 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) long by 7–8 cm ( 2 + 3 ⁄ 4 – 3 + 1 ⁄ 4 in) wide, with a short (typically 2–3 millimetres or 1 ⁄ 16 – 1 ⁄ 8 inch) petiole . They have a cordate (auricled) base and 3–6 rounded lobes, divided no further than halfway to the midrib. The leaves are usually glabrous or have just
1760-631: The winter buds and deeper lobes on the leaves (often more than halfway to the midrib). The acorn cups are also very different. Quercus robur (from the Latin quercus , "oak" + robur derived from a word meaning robust, strong) was named by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum (1753). It is the type species of the genus and classified in the white oak section ( Quercus section Quercus ). It has numerous common names, including "common oak", "European oak" and "English oak". In French it
1804-459: Was celebrated nationally on 29 May as Oak Apple Day , which continues to this day in some communities. Many place names in England include a reference to this tree, including Oakley, Occold and Eyke. Copdock, in Suffolk , probably derives from a pollarded oak ("copped oak"). 'The Royal Oak' is the third most popular pub name in Britain (with 541 counted in 2007) and HMS Royal Oak has been
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1848-594: Was featured on the 2005 television programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the Midlands . It was voted ' England's Tree of the Year ' in 2014, and came sixth in the European Tree of the Year finals in 2015. The threat to the Major Oak from fracking is the subject of a song by English musician Beans on Toast on his 2017 album Cushty . In July 2020 the tree was reported as vandalised, with
1892-447: Was parasitised by another insect, and these emerged instead. The undersides of oak leaves are often covered in spangle galls , which persist after the leaves fall. One of the most distinctive galls is the oak apple , a 4.5 cm diameter spongy ball created from the buds by the wasp Biorhiza pallida . The pineapple gall , while less common, is also easily recognised. The quantity of caterpillar species on an oak tree increases with
1936-540: Was voted ' England's Tree of the Year ' by a public poll by the Woodland Trust , receiving 18% of the votes. Its name originates from Major Hayman Rooke 's description of it in 1790. There are several theories as to how it became so huge and oddly shaped. The Major Oak may be several trees that fused together as saplings, or the tree could have been pollarded . (Pollarding is a system of tree management that enabled foresters to grow more than one crop of timber from
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