Oak has been famous and popular among different nations since ancient times. Even in ancient Greece, the name of the patron god of art and science, Apollo, was associated with a stately and useful tree. The ancient Slavs considered the oak a symbol of Perun, spewing thunder and lightning. Some authors explain the Latin generic name Quercus by the corresponding Greek word meaning "rough". The fact is that the fruits of the oak are covered with a wrinkled cup-shaped cupule on top, besides, the bark on old trees is cut with deep cracks.
Botanical description of common oak
The genus Oak belongs to the Beech family (Fagaceae). These are deciduous trees, rarely shrubs with a wide distribution area. A common species for broad-leaved forests and the forest-steppe zone of the European part of Russia, Western and Eastern Europe is the English oak (Quercus robur). Other species definitions of this plant are D. ordinary, D. summer, D. English. tree heightold age is 40–50 m, diameter - 1.5–2 m. The age of individual oak specimens in European countries reaches 700–2000 years, for example, Zaporozhye and Stelmuzh oaks. The leaves of D. vulgaris have a pinnately lobed shape, they are dark green in color, shiny and leathery on top, grayish green below. Small flowers form a loose inflorescence. In its place, after pollination, a yellow-brown nut with longitudinal stripes is formed.
Oak fruit - acorn
The cup-shaped cupule is formed by reduced parts of the inflorescence, it is shallow, has a grayish tint, rough outside. The fruit can be almost round, reaching 1.5 cm in diameter. Acorns are more often oblong in shape, 2.5–3.5 cm long. Oak fruits serve to spread the species, are used in afforestation and reforestation after land reclamation.
Acorns can be planted in the country, in the front garden, in the courtyard of a multi-storey building. The first few years the seedlings will grow slowly. Then the trunk begins to thicken and stretch in length, the lower branches are high from the ground. Fruiting begins late, about 15–20 years after germination, but there are also later dates for the appearance of acorns. Ripe oak fruits in the middle lane are harvested in early or mid-autumn. In the southern regions, seeds are harvested from October to November.
Practical significance of trees of the genus Quercus
In total, there are about 450 types of oak in the world, many of them are used in furnitureindustry, shipbuilding, have medicinal properties and nutritional value. In the past centuries, oak forests have been badly damaged in densely populated areas due to plowing of land, the use of wood in construction. On the coasts, even trunks are still used for the manufacture of boats and ships. Since ancient times, bark and wood have been a source of tanning compounds in the leather industry. Leaves and acorns are used to make wool dye.
Oak wood is dense, hard, resistant to decay even in wet conditions. Beautiful coloring and texture, elasticity and other properties allow the material to be widely used in housing construction and the furniture industry. If the trunks lie under water for years without air access, then they darken, become even more durable (“bog oak”). The flexibility and odorlessness of wood are highly valued in the production of barrels for cognac, alcohol, beer, wine.
Nutritional value of acorns
What fruits the oak has, their calorie content are important indicators for breeding wild boars in broad-leaved and mixed forests. Highly nutritious acorns diversify the diet of domestic pigs, dried and ground fruits are given to cattle and poultry. To preserve oak forests, the average number of wild boars should not exceed 10–20 heads per 1000 ha of forest plantations. With intensive use of the forest for fur farming, the seed and fodder base is reduced, and the undergrowth is hardly formed. In addition to wild boars, oak fruits also serve as food for squirrels, raccoons, deer, woodpeckers and jays, accounting for up to 25%their diet.
Acorns of trees of the genus Quercus contain:
- carbohydrates - up to 50, 4%;
- water - 34.7%;
- oils - about 4.7%;
- protein - about 4.4%;
- fiber - up to 4, 2%;
- minerals - 1.6%.
The nutritional value of 100g of acorns is 500 calories. From this amount of fruit, you can get 30 grams of oil. Acorn flour is suitable for baking bread, it can be added to dishes. Elderly people remember how in the war and post-war years, oak fruits were saved from hunger. It is still customary to brew and drink dried and ground acorns, replacing coffee with this drink. It helps with gastrointestinal disorders and anemia. The taste of this coffee is pleasant, but a little sugary. A person who is accustomed to the aromatic grains of arabica coffee will not like the acorn drink. They should not get carried away, tannins can negatively affect the functioning of the kidneys.
Preparing acorns for coffee and flour involves soaking, drying in the sun, in the oven or in a frying pan. The amount of tannins can be determined by the size of the cupule, the smaller the cup-shaped lid on the stomach, the lower the content of tannic acid.
Leaves and fruits of oak in folk medicine
Twigs of a tree with leaves collected in a bundle are popular accessories for a Russian bath. It is believed that only hardy people should use oak brooms. Wide leaf blades contribute to the rapid injection of hot steam to the body. For rinsing after a bath or bath is usedleaf decoction. This remedy, rich in tannins, has an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect. Fresh or dried leaves are ground in a mortar and applied to scratches and wounds to disinfect them.
Oak bark is rich in medicinal compounds. To obtain a pharmaceutical preparation, it is cut from young trees during the period of sap flow, dried and ground. A decoction of the bark is used for gastrointestinal disorders, for rinsing the mouth and throat, for acne, for baths for skin diseases.
Powder from dried acorns for humans has medicinal value as an antiviral and antiseptic agent. Ground and boiled in water, oak fruits are used for diseases of the urinary system, to eliminate diarrhea. Take this folk remedy to cleanse the body of toxins, improve metabolism, sore throat and dysentery.
The use of oak in landscaping and landscape design
Representatives of the genus Quercus are widely used in landscaping settlements, courtyards of urban high-rise buildings and rural houses. Groves, alleys, single specimens of oak adorn the park areas. Large leaves emit a lot of phytoncides that purify the air. The summer variety of oak sheds its leaves completely in autumn. Buds open early - in April. The leaves of the winter subspecies appear in late April or May, dry up in autumn, but do not fall for the winter.
In recent years there has been a growing interest in the use of oak in green building. Among the reasons for the new round of popularity -creation of decorative forms with a pyramidal crown, cultivars that shed their leaves late. Under a single oak in the garden, you can break a flower bed of primroses or violets. Delicate corollas of the oak anemone look beautiful against the background of a dark trunk.
Use of oak fruits for educational purposes
Kindergarten students in the classroom are told about the benefits of trees, about the names of oak fruits, what can be made from them. Preschoolers and younger students are happy to collect acorns for creative activities, games, creating crafts and compositions from natural materials. When dried, the fruit does not crack, only the plush does not hold on to it. An acorn can be pierced with a needle, a match, to make figurines of people and animals, beads from it. High school students from rural schools, together with foresters, harvest oak fruits for afforestation and landscaping of their village.
Interesting oak fruit facts
The first full-fledged crop of fruits is formed on a tree at the age of 50. A hundred-year-old oak produces an average of 2.2 thousand acorns per season. Only one fruit out of 10 thousand grows into a new tree. It is also important how the oak fruits are distributed for the reproduction of the species. If acorns are specially planted in prepared soil and the plantation is cared for, then germination increases.
In the mythology of different peoples, oak is associated with power, longevity, exceptional courage in battle.
During the Second World War in Japan, schoolchildren collected more than 1 million tons of acorns. This issaved the population from starvation in the face of reduced production and supply of rice.
The largest acorn monument is installed in the North American city of Raleigh (North Carolina). Its height is 3 m, its weight is over 0.5 tons.
According to legend, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great dropped an acorn while walking on the coast of the Gulf of Finland northwest of St. Petersburg. A monument is dedicated to this event, which can be seen in the Kurortny district near the village. Solar. The acorn is forged from metal and installed in a green area near the road to the beach.
