Where does cork come from?

Have you ever wondered where cork comes from? It comes from the bark of the "Cork Oak tree" (tree species name - Quercus suber). The cork bark of this species of oak tree (yes it does produce acorns) can grow to become two to three inches thick. Normally however it is harvested when it is about one or one and a half inches thick. In the image above you can see several different layers of the bark, the result of being harvested several times.
Only the bark on the main trunk and lower branches is harvested using special tools that peel off large sections of the outer bark without damaging the tree. What is left is the dark inner bark that you can see on the tree below. The bark takes about 7-10 years to grow back to a thickness that can be harvested again.
The picture below is a piece of the cork bark that I found laying on the ground. This particular piece was almost two inches thick. One curious thing that I have found with the bark of this oak tree species is its seeming resistance to rotting. I have often found sections of branches laying on the ground where the wood has rotted away leaving a "tube" of bark that does not seem to have rotted at all.
One interesting use for cork bark in Spain is in the tradition of making nativity sets. In almost all nativity sets you will see sections of this bark used to make the homes or stable or even caves. Keep in mind that in Spain nativity sets tend to be very elaborate and large "model villages" with Bethlehem, Roman forts and the countryside represented.

18 comments:

  1. How fascinating!!! I had no idea where cork came from. Great post and photos. Super blog!!!

    JJ :D

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  2. great post-- I notice that some wine corks are now being made out of some synthetic material rather than cork, is there a shortage of cork oak trees?

    Can cork oaks grow in a climate like NYC or colder climates like Norway for example?

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  3. Very, very interesting.

    I thoroughly enjoy your blog. I always learn something new and fascinating. Thanks for all the effort you put into it. -- Very enjoyable.

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  4. - nature nut - Thanks for the comment!
    - d. chedwick - I know that Cork Oak grows in France but I don´t know how much farther north they can grow.
    - american swede - I´m glad you enjoy my blog.

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  5. I was totally fascinated to learn about the Cork Oak tree. I had no idea that cork grew naturally. I always thought it was "man made" using various materials. I'm amazed what we can learn even at the age of 45.

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  6. We really appreciate the information. We havelearned somthing special.

    Thanks,
    David and David Paul Evans

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  7. I was recently talking with someone - we did not know where cork came from. Although we knew it was a natural product. I really learned a lot from this post about the Cork Oak Tree. Fascinating !!!
    Louise

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  8. Here more info on this amazing tree:
    http://www.uv.es/jgpausas/corkoak.htm

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  9. Jenny thought cork raised from the see like a sea's god.

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  10. awesome i didn't know those facts :D

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  11. Very cool, maybe we should recycle all our wine corks instead of tossing them. Thanks for article.

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  12. When a friend shared an experience of seeing a cork tree in Spain, explaining corks were made from the bark, I nearly argued that corks came from cork trees in clusters, among the leaves, ready to use. Where did I get that idea? From the rather convincing illustrations in the book, Ferdinand the Bull. A bit embarassing! Glad to learn the facts!

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  13. I THOUGHT IT WAS MADE FROM COCONUT HUSKS ! THANKS OR THE INFO

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  14. Thanks for the info! I was so glad to learn that harvesting the cork bark does not damage the tree. Good to know, now I can support CorkReHarvest.org :o)

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  15. Great info used it for a project at school!!!!!!!!!

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  16. There are cork trees in southwest Georgia, USA.

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  17. OMG This Was a big help on my reserch Report! great job! thanks!

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  18. Cork came up in our homeschooling today and my little dude wondered where it came from. Thank you for all the wonderful information. We learned a lot!

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