Quercus suber L.

Cork oak

Cork oak is a native of southwest Europe and northwest Africa. It is not native to North America. It is the principle source of cork for wine bottle stoppers. Remarkably, removal of the cork does not harm the tree, provided the tree is at least 25 years old, and the bark is harvested every 9-12 years.

Plants: Trees reach 66′ (20 m). See the Quercus comparison table.

Leaves: Alternate, 1½–2½″ (4–7 cm) long, roughly oval, with a few rounded serrations. Leaf tops are light green, while the bottoms are whitish due to the presence of dense, minute hairs.

Flowers: Staminate (male) flowers are catkins that develop on the leaf axils of young branches. They are bright red and erect, fading to yellow and hanging downward later. Pistillate (female) flowers are ⅛–1″ (5–30 mm) long, with two to five separate flowers. Trees are monoecious—male and female flowers appear on the same tree.

Fruits: Fruits form in clusters of 2-8 acorns. Acorns are ¾–1¾″ long ⨉ ⅜–⅝″ in diameter (2–4.5 ⨉ 1–1.8 cm). A cupule (cap) ¾–⅞″ (2–2.5 cm) around encloses about ⅓ to ½ of each acorn.

Habitats: In native habitats, cork oak grows in a wide variety of soils in warm climates, in acid to neutral soils with medium rainfall.

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Quercus suber description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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