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Oak symbols. Oak leaves and fruits. Where are oak fruits used? Oak is an amazing plant.

The common oak is a powerful large tree, revered by people since ancient times. Healers used its leaves, bark and fruits for healing, shamans and clairvoyants felt the strong energy of the tree and were charged with it. Modern society also uses parts of the tree in medicine, ornamental gardening and as building materials.

Varieties

The biological reference book lists several varieties of these giants of the plant world. Among them are common oak, pedunculate oak, and sessile oak. All representatives of the genus belong to the Beech family. Have you ever seen a deciduous tree that keeps its leaves all year round? So, among late oaks this is a common phenomenon. Early forms bloom in early April and shed their leaves for the winter. And the later ones wake up closer to May, so young trees can turn green all year round. In nature, individually growing trees are more common, and oak groves are less common.

Where does the common oak grow?

This breed of deciduous trees is quite common in Russia and Europe. It is found in the form of small oak forests in Asia and northern Africa. It was brought to North American territory artificially. Unfortunately, oak trees no longer grow in Siberian forests. In European broad-leaved forests, oaks coexist with maples and elms, lindens and hornbeams. In mixed forests they grow next to fir, pine and spruce. The trees are undemanding to natural conditions and tolerate dense shade. Therefore, young representatives can develop on a slope or in a dense forest. The older the oak tree gets, the taller it is, the more light it needs.

Common oak. Description

In botanical gardens there are very ancient specimens, sometimes several thousand years old. For example, the Zaporozhye oak in Ukraine is 700 years old, and the Stelmuzhsky oak in Lithuania is about 1700 or 2000 years old. Although the average age is approximately 400 years. Giants take a long time to develop:

they reach maturity at 40 years or later, and only then begin to bear fruit;
grow up to 100, some up to 200 years;
Oak trees gain width throughout their life; the oldest trees reach 13 m in circumference.

Oak leaves have a distinctive wavy appearance and grow on small petioles. They grow from 4 to 12 cm in length, and reach up to 7 cm in width. They are leathery, dense, and glossy to the touch. In summer, their color is deep green with small yellowish veins. The common oak blooms in early May, when the young foliage is already turning green. At this time, the crown is decorated with earrings up to 3 cm long, with up to 10 flowers. They are of different genders, usually females are higher than males. After pollination, 1 small acorn is born from each ovary. On young shoots, acorns grow in pairs, sometimes three or four.

The spreading branches are strong and thick, and the young shoots are soft and fluffy. Young trees have an irregular appearance due to cranked trunks. Only with age does the trunk become smoother and thicker. The usual diameter of an adult tree is up to 2 meters. Young and old trees differ in the color and type of bark. Until 25-30 years old, she is smooth and gray. Then it darkens, turns black and becomes covered with deep cracks. What does a common oak look like? A photo, description or a simple walk into the oak forest will create the right impression. You can recognize a separately growing oak tree by its crown, which has the shape of a tent.

How is oak raw material harvested?

People often unknowingly collect old, rough bark from oak trees. It is suitable only for decorative purposes: it will make wonderful boards, stands, etc. If you are interested in common oak bark for medicinal purposes, then you need to remove it from young trees. Oak trees under 10 years of age are suitable for harvesting bark. On an industrial scale, bush forms of trees are grown to collect raw materials. They simply periodically cut off the tops from which the bark is removed. Or young trees are cut down at the roots. After some time, new shoots begin to grow in this place, and the oak tree bushes.

At the beginning of spring, when the trees wake up and sap begins to move through them, you can begin collecting raw materials. The resulting material is laid out for quick drying. Young bark is valued higher than old bark due to the high content of tannins in its composition. Acorns are also used in folk medicine. In addition to tannins, they contain oils and starch. Leaves are also used thanks to the coloring pigments in the composition.

How is it used in medicine in different countries?

In folk medicine in different countries, bark, young twigs, leaves and acorns are used. Recipes and uses vary slightly.

For example, in Russia, a decoction of the bark is considered a good remedy for bleeding gums and diarrhea with bloody discharge. It is recommended to drink it to treat scurvy and liver failure. In everyday life, the collected leaves are placed in jars with pickles, and coffee is ground from fried acorns.
Polish healers use the astringent properties of a decoction of the bark. The product is used to heal cuts and reduce inflammation of the bladder. It is also recommended for women during menstruation to reduce discharge and relieve pain.
It is known that Bulgarian healers prepare medicines for dysentery, sore throat, and stomach diseases from oak bark. Prepared ointments are used to treat skin diseases.

Carefully! Side effects

General recommendations are to use traditional medicines in moderation.
Doctors strictly prohibit giving decoctions and powders to children.
Rinsing the mouth too often with an infusion of bark can lead to poisoning and vomiting. Loss of smell can occur for those who use medications for too long.
People suffering from constipation and hemorrhoids are not recommended to try natural remedies.

Common folk recipes

Infusions are made from acorns. To treat tuberculosis, peeled fruits are fried in the oven and then crushed. Powder from three teaspoons is poured into one and a half glasses of boiling water and infused. It is recommended to consume 1 tablespoon before lunch. An infusion of 1 teaspoon in the same amount of water will help with enterocolitis. You should drink a glass of it before meals.
Acorn powder will help with diabetes. Only the collected ripe fruits are dried and crushed. They are recommended to be consumed for a month, 1 teaspoon 3 times a day. The powder can be washed down with water or tea. After the course you need to take a break.
A decoction of the bark helps with women's diseases - erosive processes of the uterus, fungal diseases. You need to pour 20 grams of raw material into two glasses of water and boil over low heat for half an hour. Use the decoction for douching. In case of mushroom poisoning, such a decoction will help remove toxins. Drink it 50 ml 3 times a day.

Common oak is used for the construction of ships and houses; its raw materials are used in medicine and cosmetology; its huge crowns saturate the air with oxygen every day. Its benefits are invaluable. The main thing for humanity is to rationally manage such a resource and protect the oak heritage.

Oak wood has always been associated with the concept of strength, power, and health. The oak tree itself is a majestic picture. Its wood is dense, hard, heavy and highly durable. It is also characterized by resistance to moisture, rotting and various fungi.

The wood is porous with a beautiful texture. The color is brown or yellowish brown. The sapwood part of oak wood has a light yellow color. Over time, the color of its wood darkens, which, however, gives it a more noble appearance.

Oak is a long-living tree; age of more than a century is not the limit for it. The height of the oak reaches 30 meters, and the diameter is from 1.2 to 1.8 m. Oaks growing in forests are characterized by the presence of a straight trunk without knots up to 15 meters in height.

Wood density: about 700 kg/m3. Hardness: 3.7 - 3.9 Brinell.

The influence of growing conditions on the properties of wood

If you compare the properties of wood from trees grown in different natural conditions, you can notice significant differences. The worse the soil on which the oak grows, the better its wood. That is why oak wood from the northern regions is more valued.

Thus, oak, which grows in oak forests on sandy soils, has a thick, dark-colored bark, and its wood is painted a light straw color. The hardness of the wood of such oaks is high, but it lacks elasticity.

If an oak grows near water, for example, on the banks of a river or stream, or among alder swamps, then it is called lead, water, iron or als oak. It differs from its counterparts in its straight trunk and dense crown. The bark is leathery and spotted. Its color is light gray with a bluish tint. The wood has a pink tint, the layers are large. The elasticity is very good, but when dried it tends to crack. Unusually heavy.

Intermediate varieties of trees that grow in places located between oak forests and alder bogs have average elasticity values in their qualities, and lower hardness values than pine forests and alders. The bark of such oaks is thick, its color is brownish-gray. Often in the butt part of these trees there are hollows, and the apical part of the trunks is dry.

Where is oak wood used?

Summer oak wood is widely used in construction, and its moisture resistance properties allow it to be used in underwater structures or the hulls of wooden floating craft. It is also good for making souvenir crafts.

Winter wood is used in carpentry, furniture and parquet production. Oak firewood is not the best option because coal cools quickly. And to maintain combustion you need good draft. And it’s a pity to use such valuable wood as fuel, unless waste from other industries can be used for firewood.

Features of working with oak wood

Oak wood should be dried under natural conditions. It is not recommended to try to speed up this process as this may result in cracking.

Stained oak wood takes on a dark purple hue

In order for the wood to acquire a decorative appearance, staining is used - for oak this is done by keeping it in water for several years. After this exposure, the color of the wood becomes dark purple and silky. The hardness of long soaking only increases, although it becomes more fragile.

When working with oak wood, you should remember that it does not like alcohol varnishes, and it is useless to use polish due to its high porosity.

Oak wood does not like oils - they form unsightly stains on its surface. This wood does not need painting because it has a beautiful natural texture and color. To finish, it is enough to cover the surface of the product with a transparent varnish, preferably one that dries quickly.

For construction purposes, it is better to use wood with a large width of annual rings. This wood is highly resistant to wear. For making furniture, souvenir crafts, wooden sculptures and turned products, lighter and softer wood with narrow annual rings is better suited.

Oak is a massive, strong tree; along with other wild trees, it is particularly majestic due to its spreading bushes.

The oak is considered the king of the forest; the tree grows for quite a long time; it will take more than 70 years to see a thick trunk. The peculiarity of such a tree is that for the first few decades it grows in length, after which it grows in thickness.

The roots of the tree grow deep into the ground, and young shoots always grow from the main trunk.

The oak loves sunlight; you can see how on the most illuminated edges of the pine forest an oak tree grows and stretches into the heights. Oak tolerates drought well, tolerates frosty winters, and also grows in any soil.

Acorns can be collected 14 years after planting the tree, but if the oak tree grows in an open, sunny place, the fruits ripen much earlier. To get a tree, you need to plant an acorn in the ground.

In Russia, certain varieties of oak trees are planted, namely pedunculate or summer oak. The wood of such a tree is considered strong and is suitable for building houses and furniture.

Oak panels are often used in the construction of ships and yachts, as they are resistant to pests. Bottle stoppers are made from oak bark; cork oak is specially grown for this purpose.

Oak bark is widely used in medicine to treat diseases of the oral cavity, throat, and is included in herbal collections that help with inflammation, some skin diseases, and burns.

Acorns are fed to pigs, and certain varieties are planted in parks as ornamental plants.

Chestnut-leaved oak has unusually beautifully shaped leaves; they are collected for the herbarium in September.

How to grow oak?

To plant an oak tree, the acorn must be fresh; from this harvest, dry fruits most likely will not sprout. Acorns are planted in the ground at the end of September before frost or in the spring after it.

To plant acorns in the ground in the spring, they must be stored properly throughout the winter. The temperature should be 0 degrees or slightly higher. The room should be humid, not stuffy. Most often, acorns are stored in the cellar.

In the fall, it is necessary to plant healthy fruits, which should be collected in dry weather and then dried in the window for five days. Before sowing, it is necessary to check the acorns for the presence of pests, worms or insects; it is enough to open several healthy fruits from the general collected heap.

The seeds suitable for planting have yellow seeds inside, the missing fruits inside are usually gray or brown.

You can check the suitability of the seeds for planting by soaking them in water; dead acorns will float to the top.

To plant an oak tree on your site, you need to mark the planting site before planting, namely, make long grooves 30 cm apart. The acorns are laid out in furrows at a distance of 10 cm from each other, after which they are covered with earth.

The tree takes quite a long time to sprout; it will take time to see the first shoots, about two months. First, the root grows into the ground, strengthens, and then growth occurs on the stem itself.

It is recommended to plant the tree in the spring, since in the autumn the tree may sprout in unfavorable weather. Don’t be upset if after three weeks you don’t see shoots, give the seeds time; the rate of germination largely depends on the variety, the time of planting, and also on the soil.

You can dig up the ground a little, if the seeds sprout, then everything is in order.

Planting an oak tree, as you can see, is not a complicated process; the main rule for a good harvest is to find healthy, full-fledged fruits.

Seed care

Almost no weeds appear among oak sprouts; in some cases, it is recommended to weed the soil around the crop.

It is often impossible to water the seeds; in addition, in the fall, when the leaves fall out, watering is stopped. Excessive soil moisture during this period threatens the appearance of mold at the base of the trunks.

Pests of oak trees

In the summer, powdery mildew often attacks the tree; the seedlings will not die from this, but will grow slowly. Fungal disease is treated with sulfur.

The tree can dry out due to insects that eat the bark from the inside, as well as the leaves. There are more than 180 species of oak pests, including caterpillars, butterflies, and mice.

How is oak useful?

Since ancient times, oak has been known for its medicinal properties. Bark, leaves, and fruits are used.

The bark has an astringent effect and is used to treat stomach ulcers, gastritis, and liver disease. Decoctions of oak bark are used in the treatment of gums, namely to reduce their bleeding. Oak is included in various useful ointments and dry preparations.