Harvested cork trees south of Ubrique in Andalusia, Southern Spain, May 2008

It grows to up to 20 m, although it is typically more stunted in its native environment. The leaves are four to seven cm long, weakly lobed or coarsely toothed, dark green above, paler beneath, with the leaf margins often downcurved. The acorns are two to three cm long, in a deep cup fringed with elongated scales.

Ecology

Natural stands of cork oak can support diverse ecosystems. For example, in parts of northwestern North Africa, some cork oak forests are habitat to the endangered primate Barbary Macaque, Macaca sylvanus, a species whose habitat is fragmented and whose range was prehistorically much wider.^[1] The tree has a thick, insulating bark that likely evolved as a protection against forest fires.

Cultivation

The tree forms a thick, rugged and corky bark. Over time this bark can develop considerable thickness and this can be harvested every 9 to 12 years as cork. The harvesting of cork does not harm the tree and a new layer of cork regrows, making it a renewable resource. The tree is widely cultivated in Spain, Portugal, Algeria, Morocco, France, Italy and Tunisia. Cork Oak forests cover approximately 25,000 square kilometres in those countries. Portugal accounts for 50% of the world cork harvest. Cork Oaks cannot legally be cut down in Portugal, except for forest management felling of old, unproductive trees.

Cork Oaks live about 150 to 250 years.^[2] Virgin cork (or 'male' cork) is the first cork cut from generally 25 year old trees. Another 9 to 12 years is required for the second harvest, and a tree can be harvested twelve times in its lifetime. Cork harvesting is done entirely without machinery. The European cork industry produces 340,000 tonnes of cork a year, with a value of ?1.5 billion and employing 30,000 people. Wine corks represent 15% of cork usage by weight but 66% of revenues.

Cork Oaks are sometimes planted as individual trees, providing a minor income to their owners. The tree is also sometimes cultivated for ornament. Hybrids with Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris) are regular, both in the wild in southwest Europe and in cultivation; the hybrid is known as Lucombe Oak Quercus × hispanica. Some cork is also produced in eastern Asia from the related Chinese Cork Oak (Quercus variabilis)

Pathogens

• Phytophthora ramorum (Sudden oak death) has reached Europe and could pose a threat to the cork oak.

References

• C. Michael Hogan (2008) Barbary Macaque: Macaca sylvanus, GlobalTwitcher.com
• Abigail Hole, Michael Grosberg and Daniel Robinson. 2007. Tunisia, Edition: 4, Published by Lonely Planet, 344 pages ISBN 1740599209

Line notes

External links

• APCOR ? Associação Portuguesa de Cortiça (Portuguese Cork Association)
• Photograph of cork oaks in Portugal

Gallery

<gallery> Image:Koeh-254.jpg|Botanical illustration showing foliage, male and female flowers, and acorn. Image:Quercus fg04.jpg|Close-up of leaves. Image:Quercus suber g4.jpg|Close-up of acorn. Image:Quercus suber g3.jpg|Close-up of acorns, immature. Image:Cork oak.jpg|Cork Oak, at the base the dark reddish bark left after harvesting is visible (Portugal). Image:Quercus suber aka cork oak.jpg|Close-up of the characteristically corky bark. Image:Cork oak.JPG|Close-up at the margin of the harvest (Massif des Maures, France). Image:Quercus suber corc.JPG|Harvested cork. Image:File:Cork Oak.jpg|Huge Cork Oak in Khatouate in Morocco. </gallery>

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