Pedonculate oak

Pedonculate oak (Quercus robur, also known as Quercus pedunculata) belongs to the Fagaceae family.   Deciduous tree, pedonculate oak can be up to 50 meters. Its canopy is often more irregular than the sessile oak canopy and its foliage in clusters lets the light filter through more easily. The petiole of the leaves is very short and acorns have long stalks. Some pedonculate oaks germinate late. They are called “Chênes de Juin” (June Oaks) and we mainly find them in central France in the Val de Saône and in the Bresse.   In metropolitan France, pedonculate oak is present in every departments from the sea level to 1.750 meters in altitude on deep and loose fertile soils. Common in the northern half and on the Atlantic coast, but is rarer in the southeast and in Corse. It can form pure stands but is more often mixed with sessile oak, hornbeam or beech. Pedonculate oak covers 2 millions hectares (around 12% of the total forest area) and represents 309 millions m3 of standing wood.   The growth of the pedonculate oak is faster than the growth of the sessile oak and its growth rings are less closely. Analyses which have been published to date on green wood suggest that pedonculate oak contains less aroma but more ellagitannins than sessile oak.   Pedonculate oak needs a soil constantly supplied with water. For that reason, they are not very resistant during summer droughts and seem to be in a worse situation than sessile oak to resist global warming.     Picture 1: Botanical drawing © All Rights Reserved Picture 2: Pedonculate oak acorns © All Rights Reserved