English oak - Quercus robur

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae

Subkingdom: Tracheobionta

Superdivision : Spermatophyta

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Subclass: Hamamelididae

Order: Fagales

Family: Fagaceae

Genus: Quercus

Species: robur

This particular oak, often known as the English oak, is one of Kew Garden's Heritage trees. Other names for the tree are common, truffle and pedunculate oak (sometimes given the latin name Quercus pedunculata) and can be found on the SE bank of the main lake, close to the Sackler crossing.

In the wild It covers a large area including the majority of Europe, stretching into Asia, parts of North Africa, and the Caucasus. It is a large, deciduous tree, reaching heights of 140’ (43 m) and spread of 80’ (25 m) with a broad round crown and is slow growing, at around 1’ (0.3 m) per year but is long-lived, exceeding 700 years in age.

As can possibly be noted by its name, it is a tree that is deeply loved by the English and it is this tree, above all others, that is percieved as the backbone and birthplace of the British Empire. It also has the honorific of the “King of Trees” for this reason. It was the dominant tree throughout Britain until it was heavily exploited for its timber to build the great warships of the British Navy. It is estimated that it took 2,000 trees to make one warship. Everything, from houses to ships, were largely built from this oak, from the planks to the dowel pegs thatjoined the planks together. The mighty oak! Heart of oak... There are many expressions for this redoubtable tree. In fact the English playwright, David Garrick, penned the lines:

“Heart of oak are our ships

Heart of oak are our men”.

This was later to be re-used by Samuel James Arnold in his eulogy on the death of Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson.

It is the prevalence of Quercus robur in Britain, more so than any other Western European country, that formed this deep seated pride in what may be seen as the Nation’s national plant. Many local Parishes have at least one oak that is more than 250 years old, usually planted as a commemeration of an event or to identify a special place. One important part it polayed in many Parishes was it’s use in depicting the boundary of a Parish, or at least it’s focal point. During the Rogation days, the three days preceding Ascension Day, the people of the Parish would beat the bounds. This involved taking a willow wand, stripped of its bark, and walking the Parish boundary beating known features that were at the boundary of the Parish with the wand to fix that boundary in the Parishioners’ mind. This was to become a religious act, hence the term Rogation from rogare, latin for beseech. As mentioned, the oak may have been a focal point for the community, and many were known as Gospel Oaks. This honorofic came from the habit of the gospels being preached from beneath their mighty shade during the Beating the Bounds. This practice possibly stemmed from the veneration of the oak going back to the early Celts who’s Druids’ were named after the oak. Their title is believed to derive from dru + uid meaning oak-knower, someone who possessed ‘knowledge of the oak’. In fact the only other plant more respected was the mistletoe - Viscum album, which was commonly found growing on the oak, nowmore often associated with apple trees.

Quercus robur can be found to be rooted ithroughout Mythology, Folklore and Religion in many parts of Europe and history pre-dating the Celts, and including the ancient Greeks and their gods.

The oak is also recorded in many proverbs, such as:

An oak is not felled in one stroke - signifying patience.

Great oaks from little acorns grow - from little things grow great things.

The willow will buy a horse before the oak will buy the saddle - referring to time, as oaks grow much more slowly than willow.

It is recognised in folkloric rhyme as well, such as forecasting the weather:

‘Oak before ash,

In for a splash.

Ash before oak,

In for a soak.’

Another old piece of prose is:

‘Beware of the oak, as it draws the stroke,

And avoid the ash as it counts the flash.

Best creep under the thorn, as it will keep you from harm’.

Early humans may have held a belief that the lightning often hitting oaks and supplying fire was from the ‘angry gods’ hurling bolts at the ground.

From this belief it may have not taken much to percieve the oak as sacred, as an early provider of fire. Some stands of oak are also believed to have been the first sites of Pagan temples.

One of the most recognisable personifications of the great oak can be found in the ‘Green man’. He can be found throughout Europe in many guises, and has been seen further afield. The Green Man is often portrayed as a tree spirit, with wise eyes peering from a face represented by oak leaves, sometimes with saplings spouting from the mouth, possibly as a symbol of fertility and fecundity. He is also known as ‘Jack-o’-the-woods’.

The representation of the Green Man appears to have been absorbed by Christianity, as it can invariably be seen somewhere in most old English churches. However, there is a perception that they may have been carved by mischievious stone-masons, hiding a part of their Pagan worship in the house of Christian worship. Whichever it is, it is very common.

Another reason for its worship is its fruit, known as acorns, that were relied on for sustenance, by both the people and their livestock. Even today pigs are released in the New Forest following an oid tradition, called ‘pannage’, where commonors are still allowed to fatten their pigs for slaughter, traditionally carried out to tide the commoners over the Winter.

The main reason was obviously the timber, which was very solid and strong, probably the strongest wood in Britain, with the junction of branch and trunk being used as supports for both roofs and ships’ hulls, knees’. They also provided tannic acid for the leather trade.

Possibly the most well-known oak is the ‘Royal Oak’, now synonymous with English Public houses. It derives from the events after the battle of Worcester in 1651, when King Charles II and the Cavaliers were beaten by the Roundheads, and King Charles fled, to hide in a large oak tree at Boscabel, Staffordshire. In 1660, he declared the 29th of May as Royal Oak day to celebrate the restoration of the monarchy. Children would wear oak leaves or oak apples¹ in their lapels. Anyone not wearing one could be kicked, punched or even thrashed with nettles. In some areas the associations appertaining to Royal Oak day have been absorbed into celebrations on May Day.

The English oak is very resilient, and can survive attacks from many different types of animal, insect and micro-organism. A tree may be denuded of most of it’s leaves by voracious caterpillars and other organisms and still survive! It is believed that the oak has the largest ecosystem, supporting a couple of hundred different organisms, in Britain, and it would be a major loss to both the environment, and the countryside if it should disappear.

The leaves have been used to make a decongestant, as an astringent and to control haemorrhages. The bark was reckoned to be good to relieve diarrhoea, rashes, frostbite and gastrointestinal catarrh. Preparations used include decoction, infusion, medicinal wine, poultice and tincture.

Truly a remarkable tree, and probably one worthy of it’s veneration!