Name: English oak
Latin Name: Quercus robur
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Did you know?
Did you know? A single English oak can support more than 2,300 species of insects, birds, fungi and other wildlife.
Information:
The English oak is a symbol of strength and power, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a broad, sturdy tree with a thick, deeply ridged trunk and wide, spreading branches. Its leaves have rounded lobes, and in autumn it drops acorns, which are a favourite food of jays, squirrels and mice. Oaks can live for many hundreds of years, so the one you’re standing beside may be older than anyone you know.
Oak wood is tough and long-lasting, and it has been used for ship and house building for centuries. Many of the great timber-framed buildings and wooden warships of the past were made from it. The oak also has a place in royal history. In 1651, King Charles II hid in an oak tree to escape the Roundheads (the soldiers of Parliament) during the English Civil War. That famous tree became known as the Royal Oak, and the name still appears on pubs across the country.
