The word "cork", for the bark of the cork oak, similarly derives from Quercus. 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. Individual oak trees of cultural significance include the Royal Oak in Britain, the Charter Oak in the United States, and the Guernica Oak in the Basque Country. In Indo-European and related religions, the oak is associated with thunder gods. In culture, the oak tree is a symbol of strength and serves as the national tree of many countries. Almost a third of oak species are threatened with extinction due to climate change, invasive pests, and habitat loss. The spongy bark of the cork oak is used to make traditional wine bottle corks. Wine barrels are made of oak these are used for aging alcoholic beverages such as sherry and whisky, giving them a range of flavours, colours, and aromas. The bark was traditionally used for tanning leather. Oak timber is strong and hard, and has found many uses in construction and furniture-making. Oak leaves and acorns contain enough tannin to be toxic to cattle, but pigs are able to digest them safely. Oaks support more than 950 species of caterpillar, many kinds of gall wasp which form distinctive galls, roundish woody lumps such as the oak apple, and a large number of pests and diseases. They live in association with many kinds of fungi including truffles. Molecular phylogeny shows that the genus is divided into Old World and New World clades, but many oak species hybridise freely, making the genus's history difficult to resolve.Įcologically, oaks are keystone species in habitats from Mediterranean semi-desert to subtropical rainforest. Fossil oaks date back to the Middle Eocene. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere it includes some 500 species, both deciduous and evergreen. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne in a cup. Possible Paleocene & Late Cretaceous recordsĪn oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family.
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