English oak

The king of the forest that lives 1,000 years

The oak is the king of Europe's forests. It grows for 300 years, lives for 300 years and ages for 300 years — 1,000 years in all! One oak hosts 2,000 species of creatures — insects, birds, squirrels. The oak's fruit is the acorn; squirrels bury acorns and forget them — that's how new oaks grow. Oak wood is very strong — ships were built from it.

The English oak (Quercus robur) is a deciduous tree up to 40 m tall, living more than 1,000 years, found from Europe to the Caucasus; it doesn't grow wild in Uzbekistan but is planted in Tashkent's parks. A 'keystone species': one tree hosts 2,300 species of organisms (counted in Britain) — the backbone of the forest ecosystem. The 'mast year' phenomenon: every 5–10 years all oaks produce a huge acorn crop at once, more than animals can eat. Its dense, rot-resistant wood built the English navy (1 ship = 2,000 oaks) and barrels (wine and whisky flavour comes from its tannins). The bark is used for tanning leather. It was sacred to Celts, Germans and Slavs. The oldest oaks: Stelmužė (Lithuania) ~1,500 years, Britain's Major Oak.

Fun facts

• One oak tree hosts 2,300 species — a whole city!
• One warship needed 2,000 oaks.
• An oak lives 1,000 years: 300 growing, 300 living, 300 ageing.