The Lucombe oak - Quercus x hispanica ‘lucombeana’

Taxonomy.

Kingdom - Plantae.

Subkingdom - Tracheobionta.

Superdivision - Spermatophyta.

Division - Magnoliophyta.

Class - Magnoliopsida.

Subclass - Hamamelididae.

Order - Fagales.

Family - Fagaceae.

Genus - Quercus.

Species - cerris x suber.

The Lucombe oak is one of Kew Gardens' Heritage trees and was initially raised by William Lucombe¹, a nurseryman in St. Thomas, Exeter, in 1762. He had noted that one of his Turkey oak saplings was non-deciduous and discovered it was a cross betwern a Turkey oak - Quercus cerris and a Cork oak - Quercus suber. From this original sapling he grew new saplings, one of which is believed to have been planted at Kew in 1773 and may well have been one of the first to be planted outside Devon. The crossing fruits well, but the resultant acorns can produce varying plants. All true Lucombe oaks are clones of the original tree, but there are many Quercus cerris x Quercus suber hybrids mistakenly called Lucombe oaks.

Kew’s Lucpmbe oak was uprooted and transplanted in 1846, being moved no less than 20 metres, on a cart pulled by four horses, to it’s present site which is close to the Rose Garden behind the Palm House, by Landscape designer William Andrews Nesfield who had it moved out of the path of his proposed Syon Vista in 1846.

The European turkey oak - Quercus cerris gains it’s name from one of it’s native source Countries. It was introduced to Britain in 1735 as a substitute timber for the English oak - Quercus robur which was, at that time, the main timber provision. However it proved disappointing with it’s wood being poor quality and brittle and only being good for panelling, gaining it its other name of ‘Wainscot’ ² oak. It’ s popularity stemmed from its fast growth, adaptability and strange mossy acorn cups, or more correctly, cupules. It grows to a height and spread of 30m.

There are 21 specimens of the turkey oak, with 10 in the conservation area on the Western border of Kew Gardens which will eventually be removed as that area is slowly being returned to a conservation area of purely native species. The best example can be found to the North West of the Princess of Wales’ conservatory.

The cork oak - Quercus suber, is a medium sized evergreen oak native to South West Europe. It grows to 20m in height and is identifiable by it’s thick rugged spongy bark, or cork. It is this cork that made this tree so popular, with the bark being harvested every 10 to 12 years primarily for the wine trade, growing specifically in those regions, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, amongst others, with Portugal being the main source, with the industry producing in excess of 250,000 tonnes each year, a vast quantity considering how light cork is.

The leaves are thick and leathery to allow for the parched regions it grows in, and the cork is believed to be a protection against forest fires, as cork is known for its low flammability, just smouldering, rather than burning. The harvesting of oak has actually greatly benefited conservation in the Iberian peninsula and now the advent of plastic corks and screw-top wine bottles threatens the industry, which is threatening the habitat of species such as the rare Iberian lynx,³ black stork and booted eagles, all of which only live in cork forests. This land is so nutrient poor it will not support agriculture and so many environmental organisations are campaigning for the continued use of cork to maintain the environment and the industry.

As a footnote, the largest Lucombe oak in the world was in Phear Park in Devon. Unfortunately on February 2009 the 200-year-old tree blew down. At that point it had a girth of almost 8 metres and had been awarded the status of ‘champion’ by the Tree Register of Great Britain and Ireland. Champion trees are those recorded as the tallest, oldest or most massive example of its kind known in a given region. The current Champion Lucombe oak is in the gardens of Powis Castle, Wales.