Oak tree

HISTORY

May 29 used to be celebrated in England as Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day in celebration of Charles II hiding in an oak tree at Boscobel to escape the Roundheads in 1651. The date was chosen as it was the King’s birthday.

Royal Oak Day was declared a public holiday by parliament in 1660. Its official celebration continued until 1859.  The date was celebrated by wearing sprigs of oak or oak apples.

The original Royal Oak at Boscobel was destroyed in the 18th century by tourists snipping off branches as souvenirs.

A descendant of the Royal Oak at Boscobel House.  Oosoom at en.wikipedia 

The oak tree under which Goethe allegedly wrote Faust's Walpurgis Night scene stood inside Buchenwald concentration camp.

Sweden has a forest of 300,000 trees planted on the lake island of Visingsö  in the 1830s by their Navy for ship production in the far future. When they received word that the trees were fully grown in 1975 they had little use of them as modern warships are built with metal.

CLASSIFICATION

The English oak (Quercus robur) is the most common tree species in the UK.

The English oak differs from sessile oak (Quercus petraea) in having acorns on stalks. The acorns on Quercus petraea are stalkless.

Sessile Oak near Roßberg, Hesse, Germany. By Willow - Wikipedia

Quercivorous means “feeding on oak leaves”.

LIFE

The usual lifespan of an oak tree is about 200 years, but some live over 1,000 years. In 2013, a 1,200 year-old Welsh oak was blown down by high winds.

Oak Trees grow to around 100ft tall.

Most oak trees don't grow acorns until they are 40- 50 years old.

Mature oak trees produce about 2,000 acorns each year but only one in 10,000 will ever become a tree.

FUN FACTS

The leaves and acorns of the oak tree are poisonous to cattle, horses, goats and sheep in large amounts due to the toxin tannic acid, and cause kidney damage and gastroenteritis.

Foliage and acorns of English oak Wikipedia Commons

In one day, a full-grown oak tree expels seven tons of water through its leaves.

Cork flooring and wine corks are created using the bark of the Cork Oak tree. The tree isn't cut down. The bark is harvested and begins to regenerate quickly to be harvested every seven years. The Cork Oak isn't harmed and is therefore a sustainable resource.

City Park in New Orleans holds the world's largest collection of mature live oak trees, some older than 600 years in age.

Source Daily Express