Turkey oak
19 June 2020
Turkey oak belongs to the Fagaceae family.
Deciduous tree (leaves fall belatedly nonetheless in late autumn), Turkey oak high is between 25 and 30 meters and its lifespan is between 150 and 200 years. Its trunk is slender and has a thick bark. Young branches are pubescent. Lobes end in a small point and the underside of the leaf blade is hairy. Acorns ripening achieves in two years (blooms in May/June and fruit-forming in August/September of next year). Cupulas have long scale, soft and curved, looking like hair.
Its natural area of geographic dispersion extends from the South of Europe to Afghanistan: Albania, Bulgaria, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, Syria, Czech Republic, Turkey and former Yugoslavia. In metropolitan France, Turkey oak is naturally present in the Var and in the Alpes-Maritimes departments. Planted in the rest of the country, it is mainly present in the West on cool, deep and well drained soils from the sea level to 1200 meters in altitude.
Turkey oak wood, which is of a quality inferior to sessile or pedonculate oak, is mainly used to manufacture marine works and railway sleepers. Sliced, its wood is appreciated as veneer nonetheless.
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