''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

of oak tree

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to most of Europe and into

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The sessile oak is the national tree of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, and an unofficial emblem in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

Description

The sessile oak is a large

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

up to tall, in the white oak section of the genus (''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'') and similar to the pedunculate oak (''Q. robur''), with which it overlaps extensively in range. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are long and broad, evenly lobed with five to six lobes on each side and a petiole. The male

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s are grouped into

catkin A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in '' Salix''). They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arrang ...

s, produced in the spring. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

is an

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera '' Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and b ...

long and broad, which matures in about six months.

Comparison with pedunculate oak

Significant

botanical Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

differences from pedunculate oak (''Q. robur'') include the stalked leaves, and the stalkless (sessile)

s from which one of its common names is derived. It occurs in upland areas of altitudes over with higher rainfall and shallow, acidic, sandy soils. Its

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...

''petraea'' means "of rocky places". ''Q. robur'', on the other hand, prefers deeper, richer soils at lower altitude. Fertile hybrids with ''Quercus robur'' named '' Quercus × rosacea'' are found wherever the two parent species occur and share or are intermediate in characters between the parents.

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

, in Chapter II of ''

On the Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life''),The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by Me ...

'', noted that the sessile and pedunculate oaks had been described as both distinct species and mere varieties depending on the authority consulted.

Diseases and pests

* Acute oak decline * Sudden oak death * The Welsh oak longhorn beetle ('' Pyrrhidium sanguineum'') is named for its host tree; the larvae feed at the bark interface of dead wood.

Uses

Sessile oak is one of the most important species in Europe both economically and ecologically. Oak timber is traditionally used for building, ships and furniture. Today the best woods are used for quality

cabinetmaking A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (so ...

, veneers and

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

staves. Rougher material is used for

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...

construction, roof beams and specialist building work. The wood also has antimicrobial properties. It is also a good fuel wood. During autumns with good acorn crops (the mast years), animals are traditionally grazed under the trees to fatten them.

Pontfadog Oak

The Pontfadog Oak, once considered to be the oldest oak tree in the UK, was a sessile oak. This grew near

Chirk Chirk ( cy, Y Waun) is a town and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468. Historically in the traditional county of Denbighshire, and later Clw ...

in North Wales. It was understood to be over 1,200 years old, an age that was due to regular

pollarding Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE. The practice ...

for much of its life. The hollow trunk had a girth of . It was lost in April 2013 when it blew down in high winds.

References

External links

Quercus petraea
Royal Horticultural Society
''Quercus petraea''
– distribution map, genetic conservation units and related resources.

European Forest Genetic Resources Programme European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) is an international network that supports the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in Europe. The programme’s tasks include to coordinate and promote '' in situ'' an ...

(EUFORGEN)
Flora Europaea: ''Quercus petraea''
* Bean, W. J. (1976). ''Trees and shrubs hardy in the British Isles'' 8th ed., revised. John Murray. * Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. HarperCollins . *

Den virtuella floran – Distribution
* * {{Authority control petraea Flora of Europe Plants described in 1777 Trees of mild maritime climate Trees of humid continental climate Trees of Mediterranean climate Trees of Western Asia Environment of Cornwall National symbols of the Republic of Ireland