A potentially large evergreen tree introduced to the UK from the Mediterranean region in the 1500s. It is very resilient, surviving exposed seafront locations (like Holkham), poor soil and urban settings. The dark green shiny leaves are superficially like holly, but not spiky. There are pretty yellow catkins in early summer that are the male flowers.
Oak biodiversity
All oaks support a lot of other species (birds, bats, insects, fungi, bryophytes, and lichens). The introduction of the Turkey oak is believed to have brought a small wasp that lays its eggs in the leaf buds. Chemicals from the larvae cause the leaf to grow a small round ‘gall’ around the larvae that are generally known as ‘oak apples’. There are several types of gall wasp and the ‘apple’ varies in shape with the species. Other insects prey on the gall wasps – an intricate food web!
