Quercus ilex

Holm oak (Quercus ilex)

The holm oak, in botanical spelling with a hyphen holm oak (Quercus ilex), is a species of the beech family ( Fagaceae ). Within the genus of oaks (Quercus ), this type belongs to the Division of oaks at ( Cerris ), which also includes the cork heard.

Description

The holm oak reached as evergreen tree (hence green oak) plant height 5-20 meters, sometimes up to 28 meters with a trunk diameter of up to 1.4 meters. It can reach an age of 200 to 500 years. The crown is broadly arched and often multi-stemmed. The brownish-black to black bark can long remain smooth, checkered small in age and torn into small flat plates.

The change-constant leaves are when they emerge, which usually takes place in June, silver white, then pale yellow and then dark green. The leaves are beginning everywhere, later hairy only on the bottom. They are very variable in shape and perforation. The woolly hairy petiole has a length of 1 to 2 cm. The sheets are about 5 to 10 cm long. The simple leaf blade is ovate - lanceolate over narrow elliptic, circular to nearly; they may end pointed or blunt. The leaf margin is serrated to smooth sharp.

The flowering period extends from April to May The holm oak is monoecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( monoecious ).

The bright green acorns ( nut fruit ) are less than 2 cm long. Each fruit is enclosed to almost half of braunfilzigen fruit cup ( cupula ), with triangular, contiguous scales. The acorns are disseminated by animals such as squirrels or jays.

Dissemination

The oak tree is a character Mediterranean climate zone. She's from Portugal to Turkey ( Aegean Sea and the Black Sea coast) and spread from Morocco to Tunisia. In places, it penetrates even to areas with submediterranean climate, for example, on the French Atlantic coast or in the Lake Garda area. In the British Isles, with the exception of northern Scotland it is hardy, there is often planted in gardens and parks, and also occurs wild. In Germany it is only in the allermildesten documents (eg in the Rhine Graben, in the Bodensee area or in the Weser - Ems region ) reasonably hardy and is rarely planted.

System

There are two sub-species of oak:

• Quercus ilex L. subsp. ilex ( syn. Quercus gramuntia L., Quercus ilex var gramuntia (L.) Loudon )

• Quercus ilex subsp. rotundifolia ( Lam. ) Table Morais ( syn.. ballota Desf Quercus, Quercus ilex subsp ballota ( Desf. ) Samp, Quercus rotundifolia Lam.. . ).

Use

The seeds can be eaten raw or cooked; they can be sweet or bitter. From the seeds of a coffee substitute or oil can be obtained.

The bile produced by larvae of several species of insects on Quercus ilex, can be used medicinally. From the bark tannin is extracted.

Furniture is made from the hard wood for example. It is a good firewood, even in the not yet dried state.

An important role of tree species used in traditional pig on the Iberian Peninsula. For this, the holm oak (called in Spain dehesas ) in trees grown in the fattening period (vesting period of acorns ) are grazed by the animals. In addition to the pig breed ( Iberian pig), this form of feeding relevant for flavor, color and consistency of the meat ( Iberian ham).

Pictures

Leaf of a holm oak (Quercus ilex subsp. Rotundifolia ).

Male, kitten -like inflorescences (Quercus ilex subsp. Ilex).

Acorn surrounded by the cupula (Quercus ilex subsp. Ilex).

Mature leaves and acorn (Quercus ilex subsp. Ilex).

Acorns