Sessile or Welsh Oak - Quercus petraea

The Sessile Oak (species: Quercus petraea) also goes by the common names Welsh Oak or Durmast Oak. The name "sessile" comes from the fact that the acorn is attached directly to the branch without a stem. The common name "Welsh Oak" is used in Wales where it is the national tree. I´m not sure where the "Durmast" name comes from other than that it can refer to several oak species and might be a reference to the dark colored acorn.

The leaves of the Sessile Oak are about 5-7 inches long with lobes that are not too deeply indented and that tapper back towards the stem which is less than one inch long. As you can see in the image above they turn yellow and then brown. I saw one tree that had a reddish tone to it.
The images in this post where taken near Basel, Switzerland where this tree species is quite common. When grown out in the open this tree can form a roundish shape but in the forrest where it has to compete for light it tends to grow quite tall and has a long, straight trunk (image below). This characteristic makes it a valuable timber wood that is both tough and somewhat elastic. Historically is was used for ship building and for wine barrels.

This tree is similar to the Pedunculate Oak (Quercus Robur). One differnce between the two is that the acorn on the Pedunculate Oak is not "Sessile" and has a short stem.

Image above is of the reverse side of the Sessile oak leave. Image below is the top side of the Sessile Oak leaf.
The image below is the bark texture of the Quercus patraea. In Southern Germany, Eastern France and in Switzerland these Oak trees grow in forests along with the European Beech and several maple species.



I´m not totally sure but I believe that the German 1, 2 and 5 cent Euro coins have the Sessile Oak leaf and acorn on the national side. The shape of the leaf matches but I have not seen any article to back this theory up. If you know please leave a comment.









For more Oak tree species check out the Cork Oak, the Holm Oak, the Portuguese Oak, and the English Oak, Pyrenean Oak or White Oak.

Pyrenean Oak - Quercus pyrenaica (Melojo)

The Pyrenean Oak (sp: Quercus pyrenaica) is an oak tree species that is native to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). It tends to grow in clusters of small trees (clonal colonies) which are produced by this trees tendency to continually send up new stems from its base and root system. It is also common to see small forests of these trees where the individual trees are no more than 3-6 inches in diameter and only about 20 feet tall.

The leaves of the Pyrenean oak are deeply lobed and measure about 4-5 inches in length with smooth margins. The acorns are about 1 1/8 inches long when mature and are somewhat oblong in shape. The image below is of a new acorn forming.

These trees are quite a sight in the fall when the leaves turn yellow and then brown. Unlike some other species the leaves of this tree do not tend to drop in the fall but hang on well into the winter during which they are blown off by the wind.

Some of the leaves will still be on the tree when the new leaves form in the Spring. Like some of the other oak species in Spain the Quercus pyrenaica produces "galls" as a defense mechanism against certain wasps who lay their eggs into its bark.

Although this tree is normally not very big sometimes in good conditions it can reach considerable size like the trees in the image below.

Some other Oak tree species in Spain are the Cork Oak, the Holm Oak, the Portuguese Oak, and the English Oak.

Melojo is one of the Spanish names for this tree.

Oregon White Oak - Quercus garryana

On a recent trip to the Northwest I came across the Oregon White Oak tree (Quercus garryana - this species name is similar to its other common name "Garry Oak" Quercus=Oak and garryana=garry). The trees in these images are located on the west side of Portland just off of highway 26 along NW 167 Place near the NW Cornell Road exit. I also saw quite a few of them driving further west on the Sunset highway heading towards the coast from Portland until they petered out by the coastal range.

The acorns of the Oregon White Oak are quite round in shape and almost one inch in diameter.

I also found that on the mature trees there was a lot of dark green moss growing on the top side of the branches. This coupled with the fact that bunches of leaves grow along the length of the branches give the Quercus garryana a distinct look that sets it apart from other oak trees in the area.

The trunk of the tree in the image below must have been close to four feet in diameter. The tree in the top image of this post may have been even bigger at the base.


The leaves of these oak trees were about 4-5 inches long and 2-3 inches wide. Their texture was a bit rough like a fine grain sandpaper. The lobes were quite rounded

Across the road from these trees there was a line of Northern Red Oaks that were already turning color but these Oregon White Oaks were not showing any sign of changing color yet.

The habitat of the Quercus garryana stretches from north to south all the way from B.C. down to Southern California. In Washington State this is the only oak tree species that grows native.