What does an oak leaf look like? Common oak

Oak is a genus of plants that belongs to the beech family. There are two varieties: tree and shrub. Oak combines over 500 species. The habitat of the tree is represented by the Northern Hemisphere. Plant loves temperate climate, therefore, in the southern part of the planet, it lives only in the tropical highlands. The leaves and fruits are well recognizable, partially edible and beneficial to health.

maturation cycle

Oak is a tree that belongs to an evergreen plant species. Its crown may not change for several years. Nevertheless, there are species in which the leaves fall off with the onset of the first frost. The inflorescences of the tree are unisexual, small. It should be noted that the crown cover during pollination is poorly developed. Strong flowers are only female, male earrings can fall off at the slightest breath of wind. It is noteworthy that oak is a tree, for pollination of which scales of two sexes are needed at once. The ripening of the fruit occurs in the roller, which is a small saucer. Subsequently, an acorn grows in it. Each breed and the shape of the roller is different. In some species, the acorns are elongated, in the second - round and small, in the third - nut-shaped. It is allowed to cross breeds, but this is likely to lead to a noticeable decrease in yield.

Extremely slow, but can live for hundreds of years. The root system is formed during the first year, then it constantly develops. It is interesting that after sawing down the oak, after some time, powerful shoots sprout abundantly from the stump. Oak is a tree that is not too demanding on the soil, so the soil can be anything. Natural reproduction occurs by acorns. The height of the oak varies up to 40-45 meters. The volume of the crown depends on the breed and climate.

Description of pedunculate oak

This type of plant is considered to be ordinary, since it is the most common in the European part of the planet. An oak sprouts from an acorn in just six months. Further, over the course of 20 years, its trunk, crown and roots are formed. reach a height of 50 meters. The trunk and branches are thick, powerful, able to withstand even heavy wind. Under moderate conditions and a developed root system, pedunculate oaks can live up to 1000 years. The bark is dark brown, thick. The leaves are oblong, grow in bunches, have from 3 to 7 blunt lobes with slight teeth. These trees bloom in late spring. Common oaks are very fond of the sun, as it is a heat-resistant plant. Acorns up to 3.5 cm long.

Features of downy oak

Most often, representatives of this breed are found in Transcaucasia, in the Crimea, as well as in Asia Minor and in southern Europe. The trees reach a height of only 8-10 meters. Differ in durability and heat resistance. It must be said that such oak species are significantly inferior to many other varieties in height. But they have a very sinuous thick trunk with spreading branches. Due to its small size and wide crown, the plant often resembles a large shrub from a distance.

The length of the leaves sometimes reaches 10 cm. They are variable in shape, grow in pairs, the lobes are slightly pointed, dark green. Interestingly, the scales surrounding the acorn are very fluffy and soft.

Holm oak texture

The homeland of the tree is the Mediterranean and At the moment they are actively cultivated in North Africa and Europe. This is an evergreen plant whose height is 22-25 meters. Trunk gray color, smooth. The crown is spreading, dense. The leaves themselves are small, variable in shape, shiny, bright green in color, leathery. The fruits ripen only in the second year. Oak grows rapidly, regardless of the climate. It is suitable for frosts down to -20 degrees and heat up to +40. Shade tolerant, drought tolerant. The breed is called stone due to the fact that trees mainly grow on rocks, in mountainous areas.

Distinctive features of red oak

Most often found on the banks of rivers. Does not like stagnant water in the soil. It is native to North America, specifically Canada. In height, such trees reach 25 meters. Outwardly, the trunk is slender, smooth. The gray bark darkens and cracks over time. The oak crown is tent-shaped, green with yellowish tints closer to the ground. The leaves are large, sometimes their diameter reaches 25 cm. They have pointed lobes. In autumn they turn red and fall off.

The fruits are small, spherical, sizes - no more than 2 cm. Ripe acorns are red, slightly brown. Ripens by the end of autumn, the first year is lean. Steady fruitfulness - up to 20 years. The tree is frost-resistant, calmly resists strong wind and bright sun.

The plant is native to the east coast of North America. Large plantings are noted in forests with limestone-rich soil. Easily gets along with other breeds of oaks. It is important that the area was no higher than a kilometer above sea level. White oaks cannot stand severe frosts. The height of an adult tree is about 30 meters. The crown is powerful, tent-shaped, formed by sprawling branches. The color of the bark is grey. Old trees almost do not crack, unlike petiolate. The leaves are oval, large (up to 22 cm), have up to 9 lobes. Turn red during blooming summer time- turn green, closer to winter they become purple and fall off. The length of the acorn is up to 2.5 cm. The fruits are almost not covered with scales, therefore they often fall from the tree from strong gusts of wind.

Description of large-fruited oak

These trees are a North American species. Grows up to 30 meters high. The trunk is thick, brown in color, cracking heavily after several years from the moment of emergence. The tent-like shape of the crown is achieved by powerful spreading branches.

The foliage is oblong, lobed, has a dark green color, shines in the sun and after rain. In autumn, the entire crown falls, sometimes along with thin branches. It is worth noting the diameter of the leaves - 25 cm. The acorns are large, often reaching a length of 5 cm. Oval in shape, covered by scales by a third. A large-fruited oak sprouts with average speed. Seeds are very moisture-loving and frost-resistant. Because of this, the breed is considered decorative.

Reserve chestnut leaf oak

Widely distributed in Armenia, Iran and the north of the Caucasus. Cultivation is not amenable. Most of plantations - wild. In the middle of the 20th century, these trees were listed in the Red Book, so their felling is strictly prohibited. In the Hyrkansky Reserve, they are watched over by specially trained people. Interestingly, the chestnut oak is a mixture of several wild species growing mainly on the crests of the ridges. Very photophilous, moderately resistant to frost, but does not tolerate drought.

When the tree blossoms, it looks like a huge chestnut, 30 meters high. The trunk is rather slender and thin, the branches are sprawling. Large chestnut-shaped leaves additionally emphasize the grandeur of the tent-shaped crown. Acorns swell up to 3 cm in length.

Swamp oak (pyramidal)

The birthplace of the breed is considered to be the southern regions of Canada. The tree reaches a height of about 25 meters. The crown resembles a pyramid from afar. It is worth noting that the trunk practically merges with the leaves. The fact is that the bark of the swamp oak is completely green with an admixture of brown. The leaves are medium, have deep cuts and teeth. The color of the crown is green, but by autumn it becomes purple. The fruits are spherical, sessile, about 1.5 cm in diameter. Oak seeds love water, just like mature trees. For additional moisture, the root system goes deep into the ground. The habitat of the breed is a swampy area. Pyramidal oak grows quickly, with prolonged frosts it dies. Often large wild stands can be found on the shores of lakes and reservoirs.

Cultivation and reproduction

Pedunculate and large-fruited oak seedlings are very demanding on moisture and mineral richness of the soil. That is why they quickly emerge in floodplains and deep forest loams. It is not recommended to sow oak seedlings in podzol soil. In such soil, the sprouts will quickly die, as the roots will not be able to gain a foothold due to the high acidity of the humus. It is desirable to sow acorns in late autumn. The fruits must be fresh. If you allow the slightest drying of acorns, then germination will decrease significantly. Planting depth - from 5 to 8 cm. Before growing oak, it is important to know that the soil must be fertilized when sowing. To protect the sprouts from pests, it is necessary to cover them with spruce branches. It is also important to maintain a stable soil temperature (at least +2 degrees).

Many gardeners are wondering how to grow oak if other trees, due to circumstances, do not produce acorns. For it, you can use the breeding procedure. Green cuttings should be rooted in the first half of summer. It will not be superfluous to use special heteroauxins as a fertilizer. In addition, you need to know that cuttings of young trees germinate much faster and easier than old ones (more than 20 years old).

Features of pruning oaks

Representatives of this family of trees love careful care, despite the fact that they are considered wild. The pruning procedure especially affects the yield. Oak is a tree with monopodial branching. Therefore, the main stem must continue to grow until the end of the plant's life. In this case, the top cannot be limited in height. She always dominates the rest of the shoots. Pruning of branches should be done every few years. The optimal period for removing branches is early spring or the end of winter. It is important that the air temperature is not lower than -5 degrees. Otherwise, frostbite will appear at the cut points. By summer, these branches will dry to the ground. If there will be a large number of then the whole tree will die. Only new shoots, growths and diseased branches should be removed.

Useful and harmful properties of oak

For medical purposes, the bark and young branches of the tree are often used, as well as acorns, less often leaves. The upper layers of the oak trunk contain a lot of resin, acids, sugar and pectin. The composition of the fruit includes such useful substances as organic oil, proteins, starch. Young leaves contain tannins, dyes and pentosans. Thanks to this, effective anti-inflammatory drugs are produced from the tree and fruits.

The antispasmodic properties of oak are also well known. For example, it effectively helps with colitis, intestinal bleeding, gastritis, diseases of the spleen and liver. Oak tinctures increase mental and physical activity, calm the central nervous system, improve the patency of the vascular system. On the other hand, preparations based on this plant are contraindicated in children and patients suffering from constipation, hemorrhoids, nausea, and stomach ulcers.

Resource usage

Oaks are in most cases used in construction and cooking, as well as in light industry. Sawdust is used to make corks and furniture. Wood is optimally suited for surface ships, fortifications, machine building, barrel making. The boards do not swell, burn poorly, are durable, hard and dense. When oak leaves blossom and acorns ripen, it's time for cooks. AT North America the fruits of the tree are often added to coffee, sweets and most fine dining. In Asia, acorns are eaten fried with spices.

Quercus robur
Taxon: Beech family ( Fagaceae)
Other names: pedunculate oak, summer oak, english oak
English: Oak, English oak, Truffle Oak, Pedunculate Oak

Botanical description

A large, beautiful, powerful deciduous tree, reaching 40-50 m in height and 2 m in diameter, sometimes 1000 or more years old. Oak evaporates during the warm season more than 100 tons of water, 225 times its own weight. There are about 20 species of oak in our country. The most common of them is the pedunculate oak. The root is powerful, widely branched; krone - well developed, sprawling. The bark of young shoots is smooth, slightly pubescent, olive-brown, while that of old shoots is gray-brown, in cracks. Leaves - oblong, obovate, narrowed downwards, pinnately lobed alternate, simple, short-petiolate, glabrous, dark green, shiny with protruding veins. In spring, oak blooms late, one of the last among deciduous trees.
Two forms of common oak are known - early and late. In the early oak, the leaves bloom in April and fall off for the winter, while in the late oak, they bloom two to three weeks later and remain on the young plants for the winter.
Oak blossoms in April - May, when it still has very small leaves. The flowers are unisexual, monoecious, very small and inconspicuous. Male or staminate flowers are collected in peculiar inflorescences - long and thin yellowish-greenish drooping catkins, reminiscent of hazel catkins. These earrings hang from the branches in whole bunches and are almost indistinguishable in color from young small leaves. Female or pistillate oak flowers are sessile, very tiny - no more than a pinhead. Each of them has the appearance of a barely noticeable greenish grain with a raspberry-red top. These flowers are located singly or 2-3 at the ends of special thin stems. Acorns grow from female flowers by autumn. After flowering, a small cup-shaped wrapper grows first - a plush, and then the fruit itself - an acorn. Acorns ripen at the end of September - beginning of October. Acorns do not tolerate drying out, the loss of even a small part of the water leads to their death.

Spreading

Oak grows in the forest and steppe zone of Europe. In ancient times, almost half of the forests of Europe were oak forests, but now oak forests make up about 3% of all forests in Europe. Often dominates in mixed forests. In the Far East, the Crimea, the Caucasus, other types of oak grow (fluffy oak, sessile oak).
Common oak is common in the middle and southern strips of the European part of Russia to the Urals. Oak hardly tolerates cold and humid climate, while in the south it develops better.
Common oak forms frequent plantations or grows in a mixture with other species almost throughout Ukraine (in the steppe - mainly along river valleys).
Oaks are divided into summer, winter and evergreen. Of the 3 types of oak growing on the territory of Ukraine, the most common and important for the industry is the common oak (pedunculate or summer oak) Quercus robur L.

Collection and preparation of medicinal oak raw materials

As a medicinal raw material, oak bark is mainly used, which is harvested in early spring, without a cortical layer and wood. To collect the bark, only young trees cut down in logging sites and sanitary cuttings can be used. Dry it under canopies in the open air or in well-ventilated areas. In good weather, you can dry in the sun. Dry bark breaks when bent, and under-dried bark bends. It is necessary to ensure that the bark does not get wet during drying, since in this case it loses a significant part of the tannins contained in it. According to the Pharmacopoeia, for non-crushed oak bark raw materials, the numerical indicators should be: tannins not less than 8%, moisture content not more than 15%, total ash not more than 8%; pieces of bark that have darkened on the inside, no more than 5%, organic impurities no more than 1%, mineral impurities no more than 1%. Shelf life of raw materials is 5 years. The smell of dry bark is absent, but when infused in water and especially in hot water there is a characteristic smell characteristic of fresh bark. The taste is strongly astringent.

Biologically active substances of oak

First of all, raw oak is considered as a source of tannins. The bark contains 10-20% tannins, they are also included in the chemical composition of leaves and fruits (5-8%). Tannins are a mixture of structurally similar phenolic compounds. From this group, the composition of oak bark tannins includes both a group of condensed and a group of hydrolyzed tannins.
In addition to tannins, oak bark contains organic acids (gallic, ellagic), carbohydrates, starch, pentosans (13-14%), flavonoids, quartzetin, proteins. The bark also contains: trace elements (mg / g): K - 1.40, Ca - 23.00, Mn - 0.60, Fe - 0.20; trace elements (µg/g): Mg - 142.60, Cu - 12.30, Zn - 10.20, Cr - 0.80, Al - 116.08, Ba - 537.12, V - 0.08, Se - 0.04, Ni - 1.84, Sr - 212.00, Pb - 3.04, B - 74.80. Ca, Ba, Se, Sr are concentrated.
The composition of oak fruits - acorns - includes starch, tannins and proteins, sugars, fatty oils (up to 5%). Thanks to this composition, acorns, together with chicory, are part of the mixture, which is used as a coffee substitute and has fairly high nutritional properties.
Oak leaves contain in its chemical composition tannins, quercetin, quercitrin, pentosans.
Gali formed on oak leaves contain a large amount of tannins.

The use of oak in medicine

Galenic oak bark preparations have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. The tannins of the plant determine the main tannic effect. When galenic oak preparations are applied to a wound or mucous membrane, interaction with proteins is observed, and a protective film is formed that protects tissues from local irritation. This slows down the inflammation process and reduces pain. Tannins denature the protoplasmic proteins of pathogenic microorganisms, which leads to a delay in their development or death.
To date, data have been accumulated on the spectrum of the resorptive action of tannins, including antispasmodic, hypotensive, antiviral and a number of other effects.
The composition of tannins includes a mixture of polyphenols, which, when interacting with oxidizing radicals, form semiquinoid radicals and radical ions, in the presence of which the peroxidation intensity decreases, therefore, the antioxidant activity of tannins can be noted.
For tannins, anti-carcinogenic and anti-radiation activity has been established.
According to the method of use, oak bark preparations can be divided into two groups: external and internal use.
Oak preparations are used externally for:
diseases of the oral cavity (gingivitis, stomatitis, amphodontosis);
inflammation of the tonsils;
;
bleeding gums;
skin diseases (ulcers, eczema, bedsores);
washing purulent and decaying wounds;
burn treatment.
Internal preparations of oak are used for:
treatment, enteritis, colitis, dysentery, cholera;
complex therapy of diseases of the stomach;
bleeding of the gastrointestinal tract;
complex therapy of kidney diseases and Bladder;
poisoning with alkaloids and salts of heavy metals, as an antidote.

It should be noted that the data on the toxicological properties of tannins characterize them as practically non-toxic compounds.
Oak bark is part of various collections from medicinal plants and as part of complex medicines.
Oak bark is part of the preparations:
Dragee "Tonzilgon N", manufacturer "Bionorica AG", is used for acute chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract(tonsillitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis), prevention of complications in respiratory viral infections and as an addition to antibiotic therapy for bacterial infections;
Gel "Vitaprokt" used to treat acute and chronic;
The drug "Polyhemostat" used in surgical practice as a hemostatic drug.

The use of oak in other industries

Common oak is used as a source of wood and raw materials for the tanning industry, as a volatile, food, melliferous, fodder, ornamental and phytomeliorative plant.
For the tanning industry, oak bark at the age of 15-20 years is considered the best. Since the bark is a good tanning agent, it is used directly as a tanning material, and tanning extracts are produced from the tree.
Oak wood has a beautiful color and texture. It is dense, strong, resilient, well preserved in the air, in the ground and under water, slowly cracks and deforms, easily pricks, resistant to decay and house fungus.
The oak tree is used in shipbuilding, the furniture industry, for the production of parquet, mine and hydraulic structures, for the manufacture of rims, skids, plywood, turning and carved products, parts of horse-drawn carts (golobel, wheels). The “bog oak” is especially valued - tree trunks that have lain at the bottom of lakes or for many years for many years. Such wood becomes extremely durable and has an almost black color.
Oak wood does not have a special smell; barrels for wine, beer, alcohol, vinegar, and oil are made from it.
Oak wood is an excellent fuel.
Common oak - spring honey plant. Bees collect a lot of highly nutritious pollen on it, in some years they collect nectar from female flowers. But honeydew (exudation of plant juices) and honeydew (plant juice processed by insects) often appear on oak. In places where oak occupies large areas, bees collect a lot of honeydew and honeydew, from which they produce honey unsuitable for winter eating. To avoid mass death bees during wintering such honey is pumped out.
Oak leaves contain the pigment quercetin, which, depending on the concentration, dyes wool and products from it in yellow, green, brown and black.
Oak acorns are highly nutritious food for wild animals and domestic pigs. However, cases of poisoning by acorns (especially green ones) of other domestic animals are known. Acorn flour is also suitable for human food.
Oak brooms in a Russian bath are not inferior to birch brooms, or even surpass them.
used in landscaping as an ornamental and phytoncidal plant when creating suburban groves, alleys, single plantations in parks and forest parks. Ornamental forms of common oak are known - with a pyramidal crown, in which the foliage falls 15-20 days later than in the usual one.

1. What does pedunculate oak look like
2. Spreading
3. Climate and soil
4. Interesting features of wood
5. Wood use
6. Construction
7. Industry
8. Leaves and acorns
9. The medicine
10. When to collect material
11. Interesting oak facts

Common oak (lat. " Quercus robur") represents the genus of the family. He is a pedunculate oak, summer, English. The birthplace of the tree is the forests of southern Russia, Eastern Europe.

What does pedunculate oak look like

The common oak is a deciduous tree, its height reaches 50 meters, the girth of the trunk is up to 2 meters. It grows up to an average of 200 years, then expands for the rest of its life. On this basis, you can determine how old the tree is approximately. The life expectancy of individual individuals is up to 500, or even more years.

The oldest representative of the species grows in Lithuania near the village of Stemluzh. Scientists managed to determine the approximate age of the centenarian - about 2000 years, there is a description of him in historical documents. Stemluzhsky oak still blooms and periodically bears fruit.

The root system of the oak has a main stem that goes deep into the ground, due to which the tree receives reliable support and high viability. Over time, lateral root processes of the first, second, third, etc. are formed and develop. order, the system acquires a spherical shape. The longest rod of an adult tree can be located 20 meters from the surface of the earth and deeper.

The young plant has an even light gray bark with a smooth surface, with age it darkens and thickens to 10 cm by the end of the oak's life, covered with deep cracks.

The crown of the pyramidal structure, wide, sprawling. A tree with strong branches growing alternately on a powerful trunk.

Everyone knows what an oak leaf looks like in Russia and in the world: lobed with a characteristic jagged-rounded edge of a simple shape. The veins protrude slightly from the main plane.

Oak fruits are acorns. They ripen by mid-autumn in September-October. They have a rounded elongated shape, brown-brown, sometimes yellowish. The fruit is deepened into a flat plush on a short stalk.

The kidneys are brown scaly, ovoid with a pointed tip. The scales have a ciliated edge.

Oak fruits are tied in spring with the arrival of heat in April-May. Flowering takes place at the same time when the leaves bloom. Flowers of different sexes:

• Women's reddish hue on a short leg;
• Men's have the appearance of yellow-green hanging earrings.

There are 2 varieties of wood: early and late. The early species spreads leaves in April-May, throws them off in the middle autumn until October. Flowering occurs at the same time. The late representative is activated 2-3 weeks later than the fellow, often the leaves remain on the branches for the whole winter, fall off in the spring with the swelling of new buds. Their appearance is practically the same.

Common oak bears fruit every 4-5 years after reaching the age of over 50 years.

Spreading

The plant does not like frost, because in northern latitudes practically never occurs. It forms forests in the middle and southern regions of Russia from the Urals to the Caucasus, where its homeland is located. AT vivo grows in Western Europe, West Asia and Africa.

A person spreads the species in different parts of the Earth, but in unusual climatic conditions, the tree develops worse: the trunk stretches slowly, the height does not exceed 20 meters, it bears fruit unstablely, and oak wood is often not of high quality. Oaks are used to create interesting park compositions, decorate alleys and populate forest belts.

AT normal conditions common breed grows in river valleys, forms mixed forests. The breed favorably coexists with representatives of coniferous and deciduous: with, beech, ash, maple.

Individuals often found alone.

Climate and soil

The family loves a temperate climate: normal humidity, average temperatures. mixed forests Russia - the optimal habitat for oak.

For a comfortable life, soils rich in minerals and organic fertilizers are required. Moist and deep gray forest loams are optimal for tree development. In such areas, the life expectancy of the oak is maximum, the trunk actively grows and remains alive for a long time.

Useful composition of wood and fruits

Oak wood and leaves are a storehouse of various trace elements used by humans in various branches of medicine and industry:

• Up to 20% of wood and leaves are tannins, they are used in medicine and the leather industry.
• Gallic and egallic organic acids;
• Carbohydrates and sugars, in particular pentosans (up to 14%);
• Flavonoids;
• Trace elements (in descending order): K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Mg, Cu, Zn, Al, Cr, Ba, V, Se, Ni, Sr, Pb, B, Ca, Se, Sr.

Acorns as fruits for reproduction also have a number of useful and vital substances for development:

• Starches;
• Proteins;
• Carbohydrates (sugar);
• Saturated oils up to 5% of the total.

Oak forests serve as a source of unique wood, widely used in various industries due to its unique useful properties:

1. Elasticity.
2. High strength and density;
3. High bending strength (95 MPa), compression (50 MPa), tension (118 MPa);
4. The treated trunk retains its specifications at high humidity and under water;
5. Low shrinkage coefficient without cracking;
6. Well preserved in the air;
7. The service life of structures and products reaches 100 years with proper care.

Wood use

A person uses all parts of a pedunculate tree - leaves, trunk, acorns, buds. Each material has found application in different areas of our life.

Construction

The oak trunk is a source of durable wood, which is used for the manufacture of building structures and products:

• Massive board;
• Parquet;
• Boards for wall and ceiling cladding;
• elements of window frames;
• Doors.

The material is durable, abrasion resistant, hard. The age of oak directly affects the quality of raw materials: how older plant, the stronger and wood is more valuable. Its color is uniform, interesting texture and cut pattern look attractive and calm. Thanks to this quality, the material has found application in the furniture industry and the creation of interior items.

Industry

The use of ordinary oak wood has become widespread in the manufacture of components for:

• Shipbuilding;
• mining industry;
• Hydraulic structures;
• Production of barrels for winemaking;
• Horse harnesses, wagons, wheels, etc.

The trunk of an adult plant serves as a raw material for efficient fuel.

Leaves and acorns

When flowering begins, bees pollinate trees, collect pollen and nectar, from which valuable honey is obtained.

Acorns from the forest serve as food for wild boar and domestic pigs. The high nutritional value of the fruit is also suitable for humans: the mature material is dried, ground into flour and used for baking. And processed in a special way acorns are added to ground chicory - it turns out healthy drink replacing coffee.

Leaves on young branches, brought from the oak forest, are tied into brooms that will compete with birch ones - they are just as good in a bathhouse.

The medicine

Scientific information about nutrients and healing properties trees allow the material to be used as an independent or accompanying treatment for many diseases of a different plan.

The description of tannins as an astringent and anti-inflammatory agent has existed for centuries. The active ingredients are found in the bark. The drugs are prescribed for pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract and food poisoning, with problems of the bladder, kidneys.

Externally, a decoction of the bark and leaves is used. Tannins in their composition help when there is a violation of the skin: wounds, abrasions, cuts, eczema, ulcers. In addition, decoctions and infusions are prescribed for gargling and pharynx with SARS, tonsillitis.

When prescribing concomitant herbal medicine, the doctor takes into account the characteristics of the main treatment, the course of the disease and the state of the body. Combining factors, the specialist determines how much time and in what form to use natural remedies. Self-treatment can only be preventive.

When to collect material

In the process of life and growth of a tree, the trunk acquires greater strength and density, and the material becomes valuable, therefore individuals suitable in size are chosen for felling.

The bark is harvested in the month of sap flow, usually in April-May. It is dried in the open air, avoiding waterlogging.

Acorns for planting are harvested in autumn, when the fruits reach their maturity. They are placed in an artificial hibernation in the refrigerator or cellar until spring, after which they are germinated and determined in the ground. You can collect in the first or second month of spring, when the snow has just melted, and the acorn has not had time to take root.

It would seem that a tree is like a tree, but the breed of the oak family is not so simple. Some Interesting Facts from the life of a stately plant.

1. The breed is so diverse that around the world there are about 600 representatives of the oak brotherhood. Many of them are similar to each other and only advanced biologists distinguish them.
2. 80 years is a serious period, especially for a person's life. And the eightieth anniversary of marriage is called an "oak" wedding.
3. There are two ways to determine how old an oak tree is: count the number of rings on the cut of the trunk or measure the trunk in girth in centimeters, derive the radius using the formula (circumference / 2π) / 2. New rings appear every year, expanding by 2-3 mm, based on this, we divide the resulting radius by 2-3 mm.

1. Oak coal has a significant burning time, but the combustible material does not hold heat well, and powerful traction is required to maintain the process.
2. Expensive building and finishing material - bog oak. Wood artificially or naturally enters the water for a long time (up to 100 years), there is a significant increase in the strength of the raw material and the acquisition of a black color.
3. For reproduction, the plant in most cases uses small acorns, and not root processes.
4. Oak forests create optimal conditions for the life of many representatives of flora and fauna.
5. Interesting sounds of oak can be heard: the musician Bartholomaus Traubeck created a kind of record using nano-technologies.

1. Forests with oaks have healing power. There is evidence that the leaves and bark secrete special phytoncides that relieve headache and calm the nervous system.
2. The breed has a high electrical conductivity - lightning strikes oaks more often than other trees.
3. The life expectancy of oak products can be several thousand years: a monument was opened in the English county of Norfolk bronze age Seahenge, created in the XXI century. BC.

Oak has long been considered a special tree. Even our ancestors worshiped this majestic giant, attributing to him conceivable and unthinkable miracles and magical powers. What is connected with this reverent attitude, what are the features and whether it is possible to grow an oak tree in your country house, let's try to figure it out in this article.

Botanical description

Pedunculate oak, also known as common oak or summer oak, is a prominent representative of the beech family. It is rightfully considered the longest-lived among trees, the average age is 400 years, but can reach 1500.

Root system, bark, crown

Oak belongs to stable durable deciduous plants, therefore it has a powerful and developed root system, which provides it with high resistance to external natural factors:

• The root system of the tree lies very deep. A young individual usually has one rod-shaped long root, from which lateral roots spread as they grow during the first seven years;
• the height of the trunk can reach 40-50 meters, the thickness of the trunk continues to slowly increase throughout the life of the tree;
• bark changes its appearance depending on the age of the plant: in young individuals, it is usually light gray, without obvious furrows, smooth, but as it grows, it thickens, becomes bumpy, the color begins to change towards dark gray with an admixture of brown shades;
• the crown of the tree is spreading, lush and dense. The volume of the crown can reach 25 meters in diameter.

Shoots, buds, leaves

Young shoots of the tree are usually not bare or covered with a small fluff, as a rule, they are brown or red in color with numerous buds. The buds are round, have a slightly lighter shade than the shoot and a scaly surface. Dark green oak leaves. The leaves have an oblong ovoid shape with rounded lobes, a short petiole and many veins. The size of the leaves can vary from 7 to 35-40 cm. Young foliage has an edge.

Flowers, fruits

Pedunculate oak is a unisexual plant, respectively, and its flowers are unisexual. Males bloom with lush catkins hanging down, consisting of small yellowish flowers. Pistillate flowers are reddish, small, located in the axils of the leaves, collected in small inflorescences up to 5 pieces.
The tree bears nuts. We know the fruits of oak as acorns - oblong bare brown nuts, 2-7 cm in size with dark brown stripes, each located in its cup-shaped "nest". The first acorns usually appear on trees that have crossed the 40-year mark.

Did you know? Despite abundant harvests, according to statistics, out of 10,000 nuts, only one acorn can become an oak.

Where oaks grow: distribution

It is not in vain that the common oak can be seen on many coats of arms and emblems of Old Europe. It is in Western Europe that this type of tree is the most common. It also grows in the European part of Russia and the countries of Western Asia. In the South, it can be found in the mountainous regions of the Black Sea coast and the Caucasus.

Is it possible to grow in the country

The green, sprawling centenarian looks very impressive, and many gardeners dream of relaxing in the shade of its crown. Is it possible to grow an oak tree on your own suburban area let's try to figure it out. Growing pedunculate oak in the backyard is commonplace for landscape design, it looks great next to standard garden shrubs and conifers.
However, it is worth remembering that the oak requires a large space and soil resource for growth and it is quite capable of "robbing" its neighbors for nutrients. In order for the oak not to bring you trouble and please the eye, you need to choose the right place for planting it and monitor the formation of the plant, preventing it from growing excessively.

Choose a place

Growing oak on the site is not as easy as it seems at first glance. In order for the venture to succeed, you need to follow the basic rules for planting a plant. One of critical tasks is the choice of the right place for the future giant.

Important! Do not forget that even a small oak tree has very developed roots and loves space, so planting a tree too close to other plants should be avoided.

Do you need lighting

Oak loves good bright lighting, it is especially useful for the upper part of the crown. At the same time, lateral shading is not terrible for a tree. In this regard, open areas of the site with nearby trees and low shrubs are suitable for growing a green giant.

Demanding to the soil

The second important point is the determination of suitable soil - this is one of the key secrets to the success of growing oak. The tree loves fertile neutral soil, but does not tolerate it well. hyperacidity, so you should not grow oak next to conifers.

Feels best on fertile loams, although it is quite viable on poor, stony soils. Oak is drought-resistant, does not like stagnant water and excessive soil moisture.

Temperature and weather conditions

The common oak is a relatively heat-loving plant, generally resistant to frost, but severe cold can damage the tree's bark, forming frost holes. It is highly resistant to drought and wind due to deep roots.

Landing features

In order for a young oak tree to take root in your area, you need to pay maximum attention to planting and subsequent care of the tree.

When to plant pedunculate oak

It is recommended to plant young individuals in early spring before the leaves bloom. If reproduction is carried out by means of acorns, then they are sown either in autumn or in late spring, closer to May, in this case, from autumn to spring, acorns are stored in a cool, dark place with high humidity.

Growing methods

Pedunculate oak can be propagated by cuttings or sprouting from acorns. Let's take a look at the features of these methods.

cuttings

Propagation of trees by cuttings is a rather time-consuming process, but it allows you to grow a tree without much cost. Pedunculate oak is propagated by rooting cuttings from the parent tree:

Important! The older the mother plant, the less likely it is that cuttings taken from it will survive and take root safely.

As soon as your pet takes root, he will immediately let you know: the buds of the plant will begin to actively increase in size and soon the first young shoots will appear on it. After that, the plant can begin to accustom to environment, first slightly opening the shelter, and subsequently leaving it open for several hours. Usually, by the beginning of September, the greenhouse can be removed and the plant can be prepared for transfer to open ground in the fall. Well-rooted cuttings are able to overwinter under the snow.

How to grow an oak tree from an acorn

Growing common oak from an acorn will bring much less hassle. The most important thing is to seriously approach the choice of acorns that will become planting material, because among them there may not be viable ones:

oak care

So, you have successfully completed the task of growing a seedling and transplanted the plant to a permanent habitat in a summer cottage. Now your main task becomes a provision for a young tree proper care. We emphasize that oak requires careful care only at first, while the plant is young, that is, up to about 5 years of age.

Should the plant be watered?

Although the oak is considered a drought-resistant plant, in this case, we mean mature trees, and young individuals require regular watering. As soon as you planted a seedling in open ground, it must be watered immediately and continue to be watered for up to 5 days daily.

Then, in the hot season from late spring to early autumn, young oak trees need systematic watering as the earth dries up. It is important to remember that oak does not like stagnant moisture, so periodically you need to loosen the soil around the trunk and remove leaves and other debris in a timely manner.

Responsiveness to feeding

Young growth is very sensitive to the environment, therefore, in order for the oak to take root, it is especially important to pay attention to top dressing in the first years. Usually oak is fertilized twice a season: in early spring and autumn - for this, special mineral fertilizers are used in the form of granules. It is noted that regular fertilization increases the resistance of oaks to diseases and fungi, and also contributes to a more intensive growth of a young tree.

Proper pruning of young oak

As you know, oak has an impressive crown, which can bring on garden plot not only the desired coolness, but also an undesirable shade for other plants. In addition, the timely removal of dried branches gives the tree a neater look.

Treatment for diseases and pests

Oak is a very resistant crop, but like other deciduous trees, it is subject to some diseases and attracts pests:

• most often the oak affects powdery mildew, forming a whitish coating on the leaves of the tree. This fungal disease not only spoils the appearance, but also weakens the plant, in addition, it can also go to the shrubs and trees adjacent to the oak. The easiest way to deal with powdery mildew is by preventive methods: it is necessary to periodically treat the plant with fungicides, and if the first signs of the disease are still found, then destroy the affected branches, and spray the tree itself with a fungicide;
• dropsy. This disease occurs in oaks due to the entry of pathogenic bacteria under the bark. As a result of the development of the disease, swellings filled with liquid form under the cortex, then dropsy opens and leaves cracks and spots on the cortex. The disease occurs after adverse weather conditions: extreme heat or a sharp cold snap. In order to avoid dropsy, you need to carefully monitor the branches and crown, remove dry branches, leaves, cut wild shoots;
• rot is caused by fungi, which develop directly in wood and even roots. Usually, such fungi live on dead trees, but there are species that infect living plants and lead to their drying out and destruction, such fungi include root sponge, oak tinder fungus. For the prevention of rot, it is necessary to observe the agricultural technology of growing a tree, carry out timely pruning and cleaning of dried branches, protect the tree from rodents in order to maintain the integrity of the bark and prevent spores from penetrating inside;
• gall midges are the most common pests. Many have seen small balls around oak leaves. They have nothing to do with fruits - these are eggs laid by these insects, the larvae stimulate the growth of tissue around them, thus forming a refuge in the form of balls (galls). Timely treatment of oak with industrial pesticides will help against the attack of harmful nutcrackers.

Did you know? On the inner surface balls contain a huge amount of tannins that were used in the manufacture of ink, which is why the galls were called "ink balls".

• green oak leaflet- a harmful caterpillar that devours foliage, weakening the tree and reducing its yield. Appears in hot, humid weather. It is recommended to fight it, as with other insects, by spraying with insecticides when the first symptoms appear.

Despite the natural frost resistance of common oak, it is sensitive to sudden changes in temperature, so it is better to cover young trees for at least the first 1-2 years of life for the winter. For these purposes, you can use special heaters or ordinary burlap, which is wrapped around the trunk and branches. With age, the oak adapts to the cold, and 2-3-year-old trees will already endure them without shelter.

Gardeners' mistakes when caring for oak

The success of growing any tree, including oak, lies in the observance of agricultural practices, however, novice gardeners often make standard mistakes that lead to the death of a seedling or disrupt the growth of an adult and other plants.

One of them:

• wrong choice of location. Oak, as you know, has a spreading crown and an extensive root system. Planting it too close to other plants or objects can cause harm. Overgrown roots can harm neighboring crops, as well as damage buildings;
• violation of the landing rules. Many gardeners are in such a hurry to plant a tree in the ground that they do not pay attention to preparing the pit. The planting hole must be dug in advance so that the metabolic processes necessary for the adaptation of the seedling to begin in the soil. You can not plant a tree in a newly dug hole;
• improper watering. Many even experienced summer residents do not water the plants enough - this often leads to the fact that only the top layer of soil is moistened, respectively, moisture simply does not reach the deep-lying roots. It is important to consider that to moisten 25 centimeters of the soil layer per 1 square meter 25-26 liters of water are needed;
• non-compliance with the rules of pruning branches. Many people trim the crown strictly according to the calendar, which often leads to negative consequences for the tree. To avoid this, in addition to the calendar, you need to focus on weather conditions, if it is too cold and frosts still occur at night, it is better to postpone pruning a little until a stable positive air temperature is established.

Among the Slavic peoples, oak has long been considered a symbol of male power and the personification of the power of the people. Therefore, it was customary to reward royalty or simply distinguished people in the old days not only with gifts, but also with a wreath of oak branches.

Where and how does oak grow.

Nowadays in the world there are more than 450 various kinds this tree. Now oak is widespread not only in Europe and Asia, but also in America and even Africa. This is one of the tallest trees, often reaching a height of 50 m and, most surprisingly, up to 5 m in girth. There are quite a few trees of this height in the world, but only oak can boast of such power.

What else is oak known for?

Oak is especially appreciated because of the beautiful and very durable wood, from which especially expensive, elite furniture is made. It reproduces by fruits called acorns. The oak fruit ripens, like the fruits of others - in the fall. They are rich in starch. Sometimes they are used to prepare a surrogate drink that tastes like coffee, and in ancient times, and even more recently, in the second world war and during the famine of them cooked bread .

Their oak leaves in antiquity brewed medicinal decoction, which relieved gum disease, healed stab and cut wounds, helped stop external and internal bleeding.