Oak

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Oak

The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s and shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s in the genus

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
Quercus (from Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
"oak tree"), which are listed in the List of Quercus species

List of Quercus species

This is an incomplete list of Quercus species. The genus contains about 400 species....
, and some related genera, notably Lithocarpus
Lithocarpus

Lithocarpus is a genus in the beech family Fagaceae, differing from Oak in the erect male spikes. The Kew Checklist accepts 334 species, though some other texts suggest as low as 100 species....
. The genus is native to the northern hemisphere, and includes deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
and evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
species extending from cold latitudes to tropical Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
and the Americas

Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
.

Oaks have spirally arranged leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
, with a lobed margin in many species; some have serrated leaves or entire leaves with a smooth margin.

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Encyclopedia

The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s and shrub

Shrub

Genus

Latin

List of Quercus species

Deciduous

Evergreen

Asia

Americas

Leaf

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are catkin

Catkin

A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollination but sometimes insect pollinated ....
s, produced in spring. The fruit

Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
is a nut

Nut (fruit)

Nut is a general term for the large, dry, oily seed or fruit of some plant. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts....
called an acorn

Acorn

The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oak tree . It is a nut , containing a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule....
, borne in a cup-like structure known as a cupule

Cupule

The calybium and the cupule make up the accessory fruit of flowering plants in the family Fagaceae. These two parts derive from different flower components....
; each acorn contains one seed (rarely two or three) and takes 6–18 months to mature, depending on species. The "live oaks"

Live oak

Live oak or evergreen oak is a general term for a number of unrelated oaks in several different sections of the genus Quercus that happen to share the characteristic of evergreen foliage....
(oaks with evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
leaves) are not a distinct group, instead with their members scattered among the sections below.

Classification

Oak trees are flowering plants. The genus is divided into two subgenera and a number of sections

Section (botany)

In botany, a section is a low-level taxonomic rank directly below subgenus. See rank and rank . It is typically used to help organize very large genus, which may have hundreds of species....
:

Subgenus Quercus

The Subgenus Quercus is divided into the following Sections:

Sect. Quercus (synonyms Lepidobalanus and Leucobalanus), the white oaks
List of Quercus species

This is an incomplete list of Quercus species. The genus contains about 400 species....
of Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, Asia and North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
. Styles are short; acorns mature in 6 months and taste sweet or slightly bitter; the inside of acorn shell is hairless. The leaves mostly lack a bristle on their lobe tips, which are usually rounded.
Sect. Mesobalanus, Hungarian oak and its relatives
List of Quercus species

This is an incomplete list of Quercus species. The genus contains about 400 species....
of Europe and Asia. Styles long; acorns mature in about 6 months and taste bitter; the inside of acorn shell is hairless. The section Mesobalanus is closely related to section Quercus and sometimes included in it.
Sect. Cerris, the Turkey oak and its relatives
List of Quercus species

This is an incomplete list of Quercus species. The genus contains about 400 species....
of Europe and Asia. Styles long; acorns mature in 18 months and taste very bitter. The inside of the acorn shell is hairless. Its leaves typically have sharp lobe tips, with bristles at the lobe tip.
Sect. Protobalanus, the Canyon live oak and its relatives
List of Quercus species

This is an incomplete list of Quercus species. The genus contains about 400 species....
, in southwest United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
and northwest Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. Styles short, acorns mature in 18 months and taste very bitter. The inside of the acorn shell appears woolly. Leaves typically have sharp lobe tips, with bristles at the lobe tip.
Sect. Lobatae (synonym Erythrobalanus), the red oaks
List of Quercus species

This is an incomplete list of Quercus species. The genus contains about 400 species....
of North America, Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
and northern South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
. Styles long, acorns mature in 18 months and taste very bitter. The inside of the acorn shell appears woolly. The actual nut is encased in a thin, clinging, papery skin. Leaves typically have sharp lobe tips, with spiny bristles at the lobe.

Subgenus Cyclobalanopsis

The ring-cupped oaks
List of Quercus species

This is an incomplete list of Quercus species. The genus contains about 400 species....
of eastern and southeastern Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
. Evergreen trees growing 10–40 m tall. They are distinct from subgenus Quercus in that they have acorns with distinctive cups bearing concrescent rings of scales; they commonly also have densely clustered acorns, though this does not apply to all of the species. The treats Cyclobalanopsis as a distinct genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, but most taxonomists consider it a subgenus
Subgenus

In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. See rank and rank .In ICZN, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a binomen, in parentheses, placed between the name of a biological genus and specific name: e.g....
of Quercus. It contains about 150 species.

Hybridisation

Interspecific hybridisation is quite common among oaks, but usually only between species within the same section and especially in the white oak group (subgenus Quercus, section Quercus; see List of Quercus species

List of Quercus species

This is an incomplete list of Quercus species. The genus contains about 400 species....
); no verified inter-section hybrids are known, except between species of sections Quercus and Mesobalanus, where several occur. Hybridisation is considered fairly common, if not widespread, in the plant world (certainly much more so than in animal taxa). Yet not all plant groups exhibit hybridisation. Botanists have often described white oaks as having weak internal barriers to hybridisation, that is to say, because they are wind pollinated

Anemophily

Anemophily or wind pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind. Anemophilous plants may be either gymnosperms or angiosperms ....
, oaks often do not discriminate against being pollinated by another species in the same section (Quercus), thus resulting in fertile hybrid offspring. Ecological stresses, especially near habitat margins, can also cause a breakdown of mate recognition as well as a reduction of male function (pollen quantity and quality) in one parent species. Recent systematic studies appear to confirm the high tendency of Quercus species to hybridize as a result of a combination of the aforementioned factors.

Frequent hybridisation has brought about a number of consequences to oak populations around the world. Most notably, hybridization has led to the creation of large populations of hybrids, copious amounts of introgression

Introgression

Introgression, in genetics , is the movement of a gene from one species into the gene pool of another by backcrossing an interspecific hybrid with one of its parents....
, and even the evolution of new species. Frequent hybridisation and high levels of introgression have caused different species in the same populations to share up to 50% of their genetic information. As a result of such high rates of hybridisation and introgression, genetic data often does not differentiate between two clearly morphologically distinct species, but rather by different populations. In spite of numerous hypotheses, the way in which oak species are able to remain morphologically and ecologically distinct with such high levels of gene flow remains largely a mystery to botanists.

The consequences of frequent hybridisation can also be seen on a higher level. The Fagaceae

Fagaceae

The family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, which are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like nuts....
, the oak family, is known to be a very slowly evolving clade

Clade

A clade is a term used in modern alpha taxonomy, the scientific classification of living and fossil organisms, to describe a monophyletic group, defined as a group consisting of a single common ancestor and all its descendants.The term "monophyletic group" is used in this article in the conventional sense of "an a...
compared to other angiosperms. More than anything, however, hybridisation patterns in Quercus pose a great challenge to the concept of a species. A species is often defined as a group of “actually or potentially interbreeding populations which are reproductively isolated from other such groups”. By this definition, many species of Quercus would be lumped together according to their geographic and ecological habitat, despite clear distinctions in morphology and, to a large extent, genetic data. Thus, although it may be difficult to place a definition on a species within a genus like Quercus, it is trivial and uninformative to apply the biological species concept to all forms of life.

Uses

Oak wood has a density of about 0.75 g/cm³, great strength and hardness, and is very resistant to insect and fungal attack because of its high tannin

Tannin

Tannins are astringent, bitter plant polyphenols that either bind and Precipitation or shrink proteins. The astringency from the tannins is what causes the dry and puckery feeling in the mouth following the consumption of red wine or an unripened fruit....
content. It also has very attractive grain markings, particularly when quarter-sawn. Wide, quarter-sawn boards of oak have been prized since the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
for use in interior paneling of prestigious buildings such as the debating chamber of the British House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the British monarchy and the House of Lords ....
in London

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, England

England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, and in the construction of fine furniture. Oak wood, from Quercus robur and Quercus petraea, was used in Europe for the construction of ship

Ship

A ship is a large watercraft that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the ferry or cargo ships, fishing, cruise ship, Coast guard, and warship....
s, especially naval men of war

Man of war

The man-of-war was the most powerful type of armed ship from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The term often refers to a ship armed with cannon and propelled primarily by sails, as opposed to a galley which is propelled primarily by oars....
, until the 19th century, and was the principal timber used in the construction of European timber-framed

Timber framing

Timber framing , or Half-timbering, is the method of creating framed structures of heavy timber jointed together with pegged mortise and tenon joints....
buildings. Today oakwood

Wood

Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs, etc....
is still commonly used for furniture

Furniture

Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects which may support the human body , provide storage, or hold objects on horizontal surfaces above the ground....
making and flooring, timber frame buildings, and for veneer production. Barrels in which red wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage often made of fermentation grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients....
s, sherry

Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. In Spanish language, it is called Vino de Jerez....
, brandy

Brandy

Brandy is a distilled_beverage produced by Distillation wine, the wine having first been produced by Fermentation grapes. Brandy contains 36%?60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink....
and spirits such as Scotch whisky

Scotch whisky

Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. In Britain, the term whisky is usually taken to mean Scotch unless otherwise specified. In List of countries where English is an official language, it is often referred to as "Scotch"....
and Bourbon whiskey

Bourbon whiskey

Bourbon is an United States whiskey, a type of distilled beverage, made primarily from maize and named for Bourbon County, Kentucky. It has been produced since the 18th century....
are aged

Aging barrel

An aging barrel is a barrel used to age wine or Distilled beverages such as whiskey, brandy, or rum.When a wine or whiskey/whisky ages in a barrel, small amounts of oxygen are introduced as the barrel lets some air in ....
are made from European and American oak. The use of oak in wine can add many different dimensions to wine based on the type and style of the oak. Oak barrels, which may be charred before use, contribute to the colour, taste, and aroma, of the contents, imparting a desirable oaky vanillin

Vanillin

Vanillin, methyl vanillin, or 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, is an organic compound with the molecular formula C8H8O3....
flavour to these drinks. The great dilemma for wine producers is to choose between French and American oakwoods. French oaks (Quercus robur, Q. petraea) give the wine greater refinement and are chosen for best wines since they increase the price compared to those aged in American oak wood. American oak contributes greater texture and resistance to ageing, but produces more violent wine bouquets. Oak wood chips are used for smoking fish, meat, cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cattle, Water Buffalo, goats, or sheep's milk. It is produced by Coagulation of the milk protein casein....
s and other foods.

The bark of Quercus suber, or Cork oak

Cork Oak

The Cork Oak is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section List of Quercus species#Section Cerris. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa....
, is used to produce wine

Wine

Stopper (plug)

A stopper is a truncated conical piece of rubber, Cork , glass, or plastic used to close off a glass tube, piece of laboratory glassware, a wine bottle or barrel and other containers with orifices....
s (corks). This species grows in the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
region, with Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
, Spain

Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
, Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
and Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
producing most of the world's supply. Of the North American oaks, the Northern red oak

Northern Red Oak

The Northern Red Oak or Champion Oak, Quercus rubra , is an oak in the List of Quercus species#Section Lobatae group . It is a native of North America, in the northeastern United States and southeast Canada....
Quercus rubra is the most prized of the red oak group for lumber, all of which is marketed as red oak regardless of the species of origin. The standard for the lumber of the white oak group, all of which is marketed as white oak, is the White Oak Quercus alba. White Oak is often used to make wine barrels. The wood of the deciduous

Deciduous

Pedunculate Oak

Quercus robur is commonly known as the pedunculate oak or English oak. It is native to most of Europe, and to Asia Minor to the Caucasus, and also to parts of North Africa....
Quercus robur and Sessile Oak

Sessile Oak

The Sessile Oak , also known as Durmast Oak, is a species of oak native to most of Europe, and into Anatolia....
Quercus petraea account for most of the European oak production, but evergreen species

Live oak

Holm Oak

The Holm Oak , also called Holly Oak or Evergreen Oak, is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It takes its name from wikt:holm, an ancient name for holly....
Quercus ilex, and Cork oak

Cork Oak

The Cork Oak is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section List of Quercus species#Section Cerris. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa....
Quercus suber also produce valuable timber.

The bark

BARK

BARK was an early Electromechanics. BARK was built using standard phone relays, implementing a 32-bit binary machine and could perform addition in 150 ms and multiplication in 250 ms....
of the White Oak is dried and used in medical preparations. Oak bark is also rich in tannin

Tannin

Tanning

Tanning is the process of making leather, which does not easily Decomposition, from the skins of animals, which do. Often this uses tannin, an acidic chemical compound....
leather

Leather

Leather is a material created through the tanning of rawhides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses....
. Acorn

Acorn

The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oak tree . It is a nut , containing a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule....
s are used for making flour or roasted for acorn coffee. Oak galls were used for centuries as the main ingredient in manuscript ink, harvested at a specific time of year.

Japanese oak is used in the making of professional drums from manufacturer Yamaha Drums

Yamaha Drums

Yamaha Drums is a subsidiary of the Yamaha Corporation. Yamaha has been building drums since 1967, and builds their drums by hand in Japan. Yamaha drums are also made in Indonesia....
. The rough, hard surface of oak gives the drum a brighter and louder tone compared to traditional drum materials such as maple

Maple

Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as Maple. Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or included in the family Sapindaceae....
and birch

Birch

Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae....
.

Diseases and pests

Sudden Oak Death

Sudden oak death

Sudden Oak Death is the common name of a disease caused by the oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. The disease kills oak and other species of tree and has had devastating effects on the oak populations in California and Oregon as well as also being present in Europe....
(Phytophthora ramorum) is a water mould

Water mould

Oomycota also known as Water molds are a group of filamentous, unicellular Heterokonts, physically resembling fungus. They are microscopic, absorptive organisms that reproduce both sexually and asexually and are composed of mycelia, or a tube-like vegetative body ....
that can kill oaks within just a few weeks. Oak Wilt

Oak wilt

Oak wilt is a fungal disease which can quickly kill an oak tree. The tree reacts to the presence of the fungus by plugging its own vascular cambium in an attempt to block the fungus from spreading further....
, caused by the fungus Ceratocystis fagacearum (a fungus closely related to Dutch Elm Disease

Dutch elm disease

Dutch elm disease is a fungus disease of elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, it has been accidentally introduced into Americas and Europe, where it has devastated native populations of elms which had not had the opportunity to evolve resistance to the disease....
), is also a lethal disease of some oaks, particularly the red oaks (the white oaks can be infected but generally live longer). Other dangers include wood-boring beetle

Beetle

Beetles are the group of insects with the largest number of known species. They are placed in the order Coleoptera , which contains more described species than in any other order in the animal, constituting about 25% of all known life-forms....
s, as well as root rot

ROT

The aviation term ROT stands for rate one turn, also known as a standard rate turn. All aircraft must be able to perform a standard rate turn....
in older trees which may not be apparent on the outside, often only being discovered when the trees come down in a strong gale

Gale

A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong. The U.S. Government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34 to 47 knots of sustained surface winds....
. Oak apple

Oak apple

An oak apple is a mutation of an oak leaf caused by chemicals injected by the larvae of certain kinds of gall wasp. They are so called because the gall, which can measure up to 5 centimetre in diameter but is normally only around 2 centimetre, looks a little like an apple....
s are gall

Gall

Galls or plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues and can be caused by various parasites, from fungi and bacterium, to insects and mites....
s on oaks made by the gall wasp

Gall wasp

Gall wasps , also called Gallflies, are a family of the order Hymenoptera and are classified with the Apocrita suborder of wasps in the superfamily Cynipoidea....
. The female kermes scale

Scale insect

The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects....
causes galls to grow on kermes oak

Kermes Oak

The Kermes Oak is an oak in the Turkey oak section List of Quercus species#Section Cerris. It is native to the western Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal east to Greece....
. Oaks are used as food plants by the larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
(butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
and moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the Order Lepidoptera. The differences between butterflies and moths are more than just taxonomy....
) species such as the Gypsy Moth

Gypsy moth

The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a Lepidoptera in the family Lymantriidae of Eurasian origin. Originally ranging from Europe to Asia, it was introduced to North America in the late 1860s and has been expanding its range ever since....
, Lymantria dispar, which can defoliate oak and other broadleaved tree species in North America.

Toxicity

The leaves and acorns of the Oak tree are poisonous to horses in large amounts, due to the toxin tannic acid

Tannic acid

Tannic acid , a commercial form of tannin, is a polyphenol. Its weak acidity is due to these phenol groups in the structure. Tannic acid is a basic ingredient in the chemical staining of wood....
, and cause kidney damage and gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, involving both the stomach and the small intestine and resulting in acute diarrhea....
. Additionally, once horses have a taste for the leaves and acorns, they may seek them out. Therefore, horse owners are encouraged to fence out Oak trees from their pasture, especially if forage is scarce. Symptoms of poisoning include lack of appetite, depression, constipation, diarrhea (which may contain blood), blood in urine, and colic.

Cultural significance

Political or symbolic

The oak is a common symbol

Symbol

A symbol is something such as an entity, picture, written word, sound, or particular mark that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention....
of strength

Virtue

Virtue is morality excellence. Personal virtues are characteristics Value as promoting individual and collective well-being, and thus Goodness and value theory by definition....
and endurance

Endurance

Endurance is the ability for humans to exert themselves for long period of time. Usually used in aerobic exercise or anaerobic exercise. The definition of 'long' varies according to the type of exertion - minutes for high intensity anaerobic exercise, hours or days for low intensity....
and has been chosen as the national tree of England

England

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Finland across the Gulf of Finland, to the west by Sweden across the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russia ....
, France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia The Latvians are a Baltic peoples culturally related to the Estonians and Lithuanians, with the Latvian language having many similarities with Lithuanian language, but not with the Estonian language....
, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest....
, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, Basque Country

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country is an Autonomous Community in northern Spain.The Basque Country was granted the status of Historical regions in Spain within Spain with the Spanish Constitution of 1978....
, Wales

Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
and Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country in Central Europe and Balkans Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central part of the Balkans....
. Iowa

Iowa

The State of Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It is bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Missouri to the south....
has designated the oak as its official state tree

List of U.S. state trees

This List of U.S. state trees includes official trees of the following U.S. state and U.S. possessions:...
in 1961, and the White Oak is the state tree of Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The state borders New York to the west and south , Massachusetts to the north, and Rhode Island to the east....
, Illinois

Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
and Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic States of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east....
. The Northern Red Oak

Northern Red Oak

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canada Provinces and territories of Canada consisting of an island of the same name. The Maritimes is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population ....
, as well as the state tree of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
. The Live Oak is the State Tree of Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
.

The oak is the emblem of County Londonderry

County Londonderry

County Londonderry or County Derry is one of the six Counties of Ireland of Northern Ireland in the Provinces of Ireland of Ulster in Ireland....
in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
, as a vast amount of the county was covered in forests of the tree until relatively recently. The name of the county comes from the city of Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry , often called the Maiden City, is a City status in the United Kingdom in Northern Ireland....
, which originally in Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
was known as Doire meaning oak.

Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
's 10 Rappen, and 1/2, 1, 2, and 5 Franc coins, and Germany

Germany

United States

Major

In many European languages, the term Major refers to a military rank, denoting seniority at one of usually various levels of rank, for example: "Sergeant-Major" denoting the most senior ranking sergeant of a large military unit; "Captain-Major", denoting a mid-level command status Officer ...
or Lt. Commander

LCDR

LCDR may refer to:* The London, Chatham and Dover Railway* The rank of lieutenant commander...
), whereas a silver oak leaf indicates an O-5 (Lt. Colonel or Commander

Commander

Commander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement....
). Arrangements of oak leaves, acorns and sprigs indicate different branches of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
Staff corps

List of United States Navy staff corps

In the United States Navy, commissioned officers are either Line officer or Staff Corps officers. Those of the Staff Corps are specialists in career fields which are professions unto themselves, such as physicians, lawyers, civil engineers, etc....
officers.

Oak leaves were added to the Nazi honor, the Knight's Cross

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the second highest military order of the Third Reich, second only to the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross....
for added status.

The oak tree is one of the symbols of the Alpha Phi Omega

Alpha Phi Omega

Alpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members....
national service fraternity. The tree is also the symbol of the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public university research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated a mile north of the city's Financial District, Toronto on grounds that surround Queen's Park ....
, which is featured as the crest of the University's coat of arms.

The oak tree is used as a symbol by a number of political parties. It is the symbol of the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservative Party, is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom....
in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, and formerly of the Progressive Democrats

Progressive Democrats

The Progressive Democrats , commonly known as the PDs, is a free-market liberal parties in the Republic of Ireland. On 8 November 2008, the party began the process of disbanding, and will formally dissolve later in 2009....
in Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
. In the cultural arena, the oakleaf is the symbol of the National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organization in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
(UK) and The Royal Oak Foundation

The Royal Oak Foundation

The Royal Oak Foundation is an alliance of American citizens supporting the mission of the National Trust of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, one of Britain's largest heritage organisations....
.

Mythological

In Celtic mythology

Celtic mythology

Celts mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure....
it is the tree of doors, believed to be a gateway between worlds, or a place where portals could be erected.

In Norse mythology

Norse mythology

Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the beliefs, myths and legends of the Norse paganism of the North Germanic language people, including those who settled on Faroe Islands and Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled....
, the oak was sacred to the thunder god, Thor

Thor

Thor is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder in Germanic mythology and Germanic paganism, and its subsets: Norse paganism, Anglo-Saxon paganism and Continental Germanic mythology....
. Some scholars speculate that this is because the oak, as the largest tree in northern Europe, was the one most often struck by lightning. Thor's Oak

Thor's Oak

Thor's Oak was an ancient tree sacred to the Germanic peoples of the Chatti, ancestors of the Hessians, and one of the most important sacred sites of the pagan Germanic peoples....
was a sacred tree of the Germanic Chatti

Chatti

The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribes whose homeland was near the Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser river and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Werra river regions, a district approximately corresponding to Hesse-Kassel, though probably so...
tribe. Its destruction marked the Christianisation of the heathen tribes by the Franks

Franks

The Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic ethnic group first identified in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River....
.

In Classical mythology

Classical mythology

The terms "classical mythology" and "Greco-Roman mythology" usually refer to the mythology, and the associated polytheism rituals and practices, of Classical Antiquity....
the oak was a symbol of Zeus

Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
and his sacred tree. An example is the oracle of Dodona

Dodona

Dodona in Epirus in northwestern Greece, was a prehistoric oracle devoted to the Mother Goddess identified at other sites with Rhea or Gaia , but here called Dione and later, in historical times also to the Greek mythology God Zeus....
, which in prehistory consisted solely of a holy oak.

The Oak tree is traditionally sacred to Serbs

Serbs

Serbs are a South Slavs people living in the Balkans and Central Europe, mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia....
and is widely used throughout Serbia

Serbia

Biblical

In the Bible

Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
, the oak tree at Shechem

Shechem

Shechem was Canaanite city mentioned in the Amarna letters, and later became an Israelite city in the tribe of Manasseh. It was the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel....
is the site where Jacob buries the foreign gods of his people (Gen. 35:4) . In addition, Joshua erects a stone under an oak tree as the first covenant of the Lord (Josh. 24.25-7). See other from the Bible.

Historical

Several individual oak trees, such as the Royal Oak in Britain and the Charter Oak

Charter Oak

The Charter Oak was an unusually large white oak tree growing, from around the 12th or 13th century until 1856, on what the English colonists named Wyllys Hill, in Hartford, Connecticut, United States....
in the United States, are of great historical or cultural importance; for a list of important oaks, see Individual oak trees.

"The Proscribed Royalist, 1651

The Proscribed Royalist, 1651

The Proscribed Royalist, 1651 is a painting by John Everett Millais which depicts a young Puritan woman protecting a fleeing Royalist after the Battle of Worcester in 1651, the decisive defeat of Charles II of England by Oliver Cromwell....
", a famous painting by John Everett Millais

John Everett Millais

Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, Royal Academy was an English Painting and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood....
, depicted a Royalist fleeing from Cromwell

Cromwell

Cromwell is the name of:...
's forces and hidden in an oak. Millais painted the picture in Hayes, Kent, from a local oak tree that became known as the Millais Oak.

Poetic

"Ambrosian Oaks" set to the Finlandia Hymn

Finlandia Hymn

The Finlandia Hymn refers to a serene hymn-like section of the patriotism symphonic poem Finlandia , written in 1899 and 1900 by the Finnish people composer Jean Sibelius....
is the school song of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa

Davenport, Iowa

Davenport is a city in Scott County, Iowa, Iowa, United States, along the Mississippi River. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a population of 98,359 and an area of ....
.

There is a proverb

Proverb

A proverb , also called a byword or nayword, is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity....
, "Mighty oaks from little acorn

Acorn

The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oak tree . It is a nut , containing a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule....
s grow." Another is: "Every majestic oak tree was once a nut who stood his ground."

Many woods are connected to certain birth months, according to the Irish, and oak is the wood of June/July. In some variations, however, rosewood has been known to be June's wood .

Names

Oakland, California. The area was called encinal by the original Spanish colonizers, a word which means "oak grove," and the origin of the city's name. It was so dubbed, because of a large stand of oak forest that differentiated it from the surrounding region.

Raleigh, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
has been nicknamed the "City of Oaks."

Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks is a town situated in the west of Kent, England. It gives its name to the Sevenoaks , of which it is the principal town, and lies 21.5 miles south-east of the centre of London, at the southern end of one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital....
is a town in Kent

Kent

Kent is a Counties of England in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary....
, England

England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, named for the seven large Oak trees that once dominated the area.

The Romania national rugby union team

Romania national rugby union team

The Romania national rugby union team, nicknamed The Oaks , have long been one of the stronger European teams outside of the Rugby Union Six Nations Championship....
is nicknamed The Oaks.

Thousand Oaks, California. Named for the many Oak trees that adorn the area, the city seal bears an Oak.

Paso Robles, "El Paso de los Robles" (English translation: oak pass) California.

Peru State College

Peru State College

Peru State College is a public four-year institution located in the rural city of Peru, Nebraska, in the Midwest region of the United States. Founded by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1865, making it the first and oldest institution in Nebraska, it would undergo several name changes before receiving its current name....
is nicknamed the "Campus of a Thousand Oaks."

Historical note on Linnaean species

Linnaeus

Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
described only five species of oak from eastern North America, based on general leaf form. These were White oak

White oak

Quercus alba, the White Oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak in the family Fagaceae, native to eastern North America, from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas....
, Q. alba, Chestnut oak

Chestnut oak

The Chestnut oak is a species of oak in the List of Quercus species#Section Quercus, Quercus sect. Quercus. It is native to the Eastern United States United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest to central Mississippi, with an outlying northwestern population in southern Michigan....
, Q. Montana, Red oak

List of Quercus species

This is an incomplete list of Quercus species. The genus contains about 400 species....
, Q. rubra, Willow oak

Willow Oak

Quercus phellos is a deciduous tree in the List of Quercus species#Section Lobatae group of oaks. It is native to Eastern United States North America from southern New York south to northern Florida, and west to southernmost Illinois and eastern Texas....
, Q. phellos, and Water oak

Water oak

The Water Oak is an oak in the List of Quercus species#Section Lobatae group , native to the Southeastern United States United States, from southern Delaware and south to the coastal areas of Maryland, Virginia, the piedmont of North Carolina, all of South Carolina, most of Georgia , all of Alabama, Mississippi, central Florida, and westwar...
, Q. nigra. Because he was dealing with confusing leaf forms, the Q. prinus and Q. rubra specimens actually included mixed foliage of more than one species. For that reason, some taxonomists in the past proposed different names for these two species (Q. Montana and Q. borealis, respectively), but the original Linnaean names have now been lectotypified with only the specimens in Linnaeus' herbarium that refer to the species the names are applied to now.

Gallery

External links

(English)
(English)
Oak leaves and their use in aquariums

Oak

Classification

Subgenus Quercus

Subgenus Cyclobalanopsis

Hybridisation

Uses

Diseases and pests

Toxicity

Cultural significance

Political or symbolic

Mythological

Biblical

Historical

Poetic

Names

Historical note on Linnaean species

Gallery

See also

External links