Oak (Quercus robur)

Description: Large oaks are a most impressive tree, with massive, sturdy trunks and a large crown which provides shade over a wide area. The sessile oak is similar to the English Oak. Both have small flowers in spring, and produce acorns in autumn, but the sessile acorns have no stalks, whereas the others do.
	Myths and Legends	Facts, Figures and Uses
	Druids in Celtic Britain held the oak tree sacred, and gathered mistletoe from its boughs for their secret rites. Ever since those days, the English oak has been the “king” of British trees. It is often split by lightning, possibly because it is frequently the tallest tree around. As a result it was often associated with the gods of thunder. It is said Charles II hid from Roundheads in an oak tree during the English Civil War. Since then, Royal Oak Day on 29 May has been celebrated. King Arthur’s round table was reputedly made from one slice of a giant oak, echoing both the oak and Arthur’s status as protectors of Britain. An old country saying, used to predict the summer’s rainfall by when the leaves come out, goes: ‘if the oak is out before the ash, the earth will only get a splash. If the ash is out before the oak, the earth will really get a soak’.	The oak flowers from April to May. The male flowers are green and inconspicuous, growing in clusters along a stalk. Pollen from the male is blown by the wind to the female flower which then forms the seed (acorn). Of all British trees the oak supports the widest variety of insect and other invertebrate and fungi life. No wonder botanists named it ‘robur’ (meaning sturdy) for until man devised iron cutting tools the oak resisted all attempts to fell it. It has been used as a symbol for strength, as in the saying “mighty oaks from little acorns grow”. The acorns were once an animal foodstuff of great importance, feeding pigs on common land in forests. Oaks were commonly planted as boundary or property markers between farms, villages and shires. There are several on this site, marking boundaries between Rosliston, Drakelow & Caulwell!