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Cork Oak
Quercus suber
41.7272, -8.16267
Field Notes
Description:
Quercus suber is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree.
It grows to up to 20 m, although it is typically more stunted in its native environment. The leaves are 4 to 7 cm long, weakly lobed or coarsely toothed, dark green above, paler beneath, with the leaf margins often downcurved. The acorns are 2 to 3 cm long, in a deep cup fringed with elongated scales.
Habitat:
In Western Europe, namely in Portugal and Spain, the Cork Oak forests are home to endangered species such as the Iberian Lynx, the most critically threatened feline in the world.The tree has a thick, insulating bark that may have been the Cork Oak's evolutionary answer to forest fires.
Notes:
It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa.
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