Cork oak

Fodder: Mast Industrial Crop: Cork Industrial Crop: Tannin Management: Standard Other Systems: Dehesa Other Systems: Strip intercrop Regional Crop Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side. Lime tolerant. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted. Cultivated for its bark in Europe, it is the main source of cork[50, 89]. Trees are first harvested when they are 25 - 30 years old and are then harvested on a 10 - 12 year rotation. Only hardy in the milder areas of Britain, it is not very frost resistant. Trees grow well in Cornwall where there are many large specimens[11, 49, 59]. Trees grow quite well at Kew[K]. Transplants badly unless it is moved regularly, it should only be moved in September or as growth commences in late spring. Does not fruit well in Britain. Most of the trees grown in Britain as Q. suber are in fact Q. suber occidentalis. Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[88, 200]. Heat Zone: 9-7. Carbon Farming Fodder: Mast Fruits and seeds of shrubs, woody vines, trees, cacti, and other non-herbaceous vegetation available for animal consumption. Industrial Crop: Cork The inner bark of a tree. Uses include bottle stoppers, insulation, soundproofing, shoe cushions. Industrial Crop: Tannin Occur generally in the roots, wood, bark, leaves, and fruit of many plants. Used in tanning leather, dyeing fabric, making ink, and medical applications. Management: Standard Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems. Other Systems: Dehesa A fodder tree silvopasture system with livestock grazing on tree crops - nuts, fruit, acorns, woody pods, fodder. Other Systems: Strip intercrop Tree crops grown in rows with alternating annual crops. Regional Crop These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits. References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information Temperature Converter Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit: Celsius Fahrenheit: The PFAF Bookshop Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants , Edible Perennials , Edible Trees , Edible Shrubs , Woodland Gardening , and Temperate Food Forest Plants . Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical) . Shop Now

Edible Parts: Seed Edible Uses: Coffee Seed - cooked. A famine food. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread. The seed contains bitter tannins, these can be leached out by thoroughly washing the seed in running water though many minerals will also be lost. Either the whole seed can be used or the seed can be dried and ground it into a powder. It can take several days or even weeks to properly leach whole seeds, one method was to wrap them in a cloth bag and place them in a stream. Leaching the powder is quicker. A simple taste test can tell when the tannin has been leached. The traditional method of preparing the seed was to bury it in boggy ground overwinter. The germinating seed was dug up in the spring when it would have lost most of its astringency. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute. One reader noted the Q. suber population of the Mamora forest in Morocco contains only sweet acorns and can be eaten raw, it has a similar taste to raw chestnuts. The skin removes quite easyl Quercus ilex also exists with tannin-free acorns in the moroccan forests, the locals say around 20 percent are sweet. References More on Edible Uses

Seed - it quickly loses viability if it is allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool overwinter but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed, though it must be protected from mice, squirrels etc. Small quantities of seed can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Plants produce a deep taproot and need to be planted out into their permanent positions as soon as possible, in fact seed sown in situ will produce the best trees. Trees should not be left in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons without being moved or they will transplant very badly.