Edible plant - novice Season - autumn Common names English oak, European oak, common oak, oak, pendunculate oak
Scientific name meaning: The genus name Quercus is a Latin name given to oak trees. Robur is a Latin word meaning strength
Habitat  Found in woodland and as individual specimens in old pasture and hedgerows. It is native to Britain and most of the northern hemisphere. |
Overall structure  English oak is a deciduous tree that can reach 20 to 30m tall. It has twisting branches that form a dense and broad crown. |
Leaves  The dark green leaves are deeply and irregularly pinnately lobed. They form in dense clusters and have very small stems. In autumn, they turn brown. |
Trunk  The grey-brown bark of the English oak becomes deeply ridge with age. It is a long-lived tree - with some specimens reaching 1,000 years plus. As it ages, its straight trunk begins to thicken and twist - older examples can have girths of several metres. Most older specimens become colonised by brown rot fungi, which breakdown the heartwood leaving many hollows in the trunk. |
Flowers Male and female flowers appear on the same tree in springtime. The male flowers are yellow catkins that are 2 - 4 cm in length. The female flowers are a few millimetres in size. They are red and resemble small buds. |
Fruit Acorns, the egg-shaped fruit of the oak, form in a cup like structure called a cupule in which they ripen. Once they ripen in autumn, they become detached from the cupule and fall to the ground. |
Possible lookalikes  Apart from other species of oak, the English oak could be confused with other trees bearing a similar leaf shape. Most hawthorns (Crataegus spp) have deeply lobed leaves and could be mistaken for young specimens of English oak. However, hawthorns produce petalled flowers, are much smaller and have thorns. |
Use as a food The acorns are roasted and ground to make coffee and flour. A bacon-like crisp can be made from the acorn pulp. Remember, the acorn is very high in tannins and a lengthy leaching process is required to remove them. Leaves are sometimes added to ferments and pickles - the tannins within them assisting to keep pickled produce crunchy Use in herbal medicine and medicine English oak has been used to treat internal bleeding, dysentery, diarrhoea, chest infections, sore throats, female genital infections, sweaty feet and haemorrhoids chill blains, bruises, sprains, eye conditions, water retention, chest conditions, diarrhoea, burns, dropsy, asthma, bronchitis, and fevers, amongst many other ailments
If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner.
Hazards Gastric distress can be suffered if tannins not correctly removed. Can affect the absorption of medications
Other uses The wood of English oak is prized for its strength and durability, so it has a history in construction. It is long lasting when under water and, therefore, the choice for making ships before metal was widely used. Clothing dyes, tar, tannin and creosote have all been obtained from the bark. Galls that form on the leaves and fruit have been used to make inks Importance to other species English oak supports thousands of species. It is a food source for the larvae of several insect species, including moths and wasps. Its acorns are fed on by mammals and birds. The fast rotting leaf litter provides habitat and food for several beetles and fungi. In addition, the hollows in its trunk and branches provide homes for insects, bees, bats, mammals and birds. And, the insects it attracts also feed various other mammals and birds. Many fungi form mycorrhizal relationships with English oak. It is also host to parasitic and saprobic fungi
Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!
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