Stone Oak

It is an evergreen medium-tall tree with smooth, dark gray bark ; reaches a height of 20-25 (27) meters, forming an ovoid or hipped crown .

The kidneys are small, oval, with densely pubescent scales. Felt shoots from the thick grayish pubescence .

Petioles densely pubescent, 0.5-1.5 cm long. The leaves are various in shape, elliptical, oval, narrow-oval or broadly lanceolate, dense, leathery, shiny-green above, completely or almost bare, grayish below and covered with a thick fluff, sometimes partially or completely descending on fully developed leaves, rounded at the base, whole-edge or with few sharp teeth, which makes them prickly, 2.5-7.5 cm long, 1-3 (4) cm wide, on the lower branches of young trees they can grow up to 10 cm long. Old leaves fall a year or two after the appearance of new ones.

Pistillate flowers and acorns 1-3 on short fronds or almost sessile.

Acorns 2-3-3 cm long; a bun to ⅓ — ½ length surrounds the acorn, its narrow-lanceolate scales, almost flat, are covered with thick, short pubescence. It blooms in spring, acorns mature in 6 months.

• Southern Europe : Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , Greece , including Crete , Italy , including Sicily and Sardinia , Malta , Montenegro , Slovenia , France (including Corsica ), Portugal , Spain (including the Balearic Islands ).
• West Asia : Turkey ;
• North Africa : Algeria , Libya , Morocco , Tunisia ,

A tree characteristic of the Mediterranean coast grows to a height of 1000-1200 m above sea level, forming forests or meeting as part of maquis .

Introduced into the culture in the XVI century. Often bred in southern Europe and along the Atlantic coast to southern England.

Introduced into the culture of Russia in 1819. In the Nikitsky Botanical Garden there are old individuals of this species about 20 meters high and a large number of younger people of different ages. Widely distributed in the parks of the Southern Crimea, where it is one of the most used evergreen exotics that created the Mediterranean cultural landscape. Less common on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus from Sochi to the south. It grows well in Baku, where, as well as on Absheron, it bears fruit. Young individuals are in Kara-Kale. It tolerates short-term frosts up to -20 in southern Crimea, but freezes in the north of Crimea. In Crimea and at the PPC, abundantly and regularly bears fruit.

Stone oak is one of three types of oaks, in symbiosis with which truffle grows.

The bark contains 7.25% of tannins.

The wood is solid, dense and heavy (specific gravity 1.04). Used since antiquity for the production of many items: poles, tools, carts, dishes and wine barrels, for underwater structures. Root wood for joinery is especially appreciated.

Widely used in the production of charcoal .

Acorns are edible (they make flour). The best and sweetest acorns are obtained from this type of oak. Some of its varieties grown in Spain and Portugal produce acorns, the best are comparable to chestnuts and are eaten like them. In length, these acorns are superior to most others and are cylindrical in shape ^[2] . In addition, they feed domestic pigs . Boiled in water, acorns can also be used as a disinfectant.

Trees can be trimmed to form hedges , and also used in protective forest belts where the soil is too dry for other trees. In continental Europe, this oak tree does not grow in culture, as it does not tolerate harsh winters. Introduced into culture in southern Europe and along the Atlantic coast of Europe until southern England from the sixteenth century. It has been cultivated in Russia since 1819. In the Nikitsky Botanical Garden there are old specimens of this type of oak up to 16-18 m high. It is found in the parks of the Southern Crimea and the Black Sea coast from Sochi and to the south. In Sukhumi, there are specimens that reached the age of 40–45 years, 22–25 m in height with a trunk diameter of 60 cm. Drought-resistant, the most frost-resistant of all evergreen oaks, the advantages include decorativeness and rapid growth.

Pathogenic Mushrooms

On a stone oak parasitic fungus Taphrina kruchii , causing the appearance of " witch brooms ." ^[3] .

• Sokolov S. Ya., Stratonovich A.I. Genus 6. Quercus - Oak // Trees and Shrubs of the USSR. Wild, cultivated and promising for introduction. / Ed. volumes S. Ya. Sokolov . - M. - L .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR , 1951. - T. II. Angiosperms. - S. 436-437. - 612 p. - 2500 copies.
• Maleev V.P. Genus 367. Oak - Quercus // Flora of the USSR : in 30 tons / chap. ed. V.L. Komarov . - M .; L .: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR , 1936. - T. 5 / ed. volumes V. L. Komarov. - S. 332. - 762, XXVI p. - 5175 copies.

• Stone Oak : Information on the taxon in the Plantarium project (a identifier of plants and an illustrated atlas of species). (Retrieved January 8, 2011)