50. North Circular Cork Oak

Cloaked in enough cork to stop a lorry load of bottles, a surprising cork oak in north east London is handily situated for budding vintners or tree enthusiasts.

The Cork Tree Retail Park in South Chingford was once the site of the Cork Manufacturing Company. Nothing is left of the works, but a cork oak, planted as an arboreal signpost over a century ago does survive in this most unlikely corner just off London’s thundering North Circular Road. Remarkably, the tree is thriving, showing how well adapted this Mediterranean species is to life in these northern isles, as well as a clear propensity to shrug off urban pollution.

Species details

Cork Oak
Quercus suber

Where to find it

Cork Tree Retail Park, Hall Lane, London E4 8JA
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Cork oak notes

One of the evergreen oaks, cork oaks originate from the western mediterranean and Atlantic Iberia where, in Portugal particularly, cork is harvested in abundance from trees that can be many centuries old. It is a traditional, and sustainable crop: trees have their bark (the cork) peeled off at nine-ten year intervals without damaging the trees. Although our climate is not thought to be ideal for the species, some exceptional trees may be seen in Britain and Ireland where they have been growing since at least the eighteenth century and possibly longer. Most are seen in the mild west, but one remarkable tree grows in a Cumbrian churchyard.

A corky limb of a cork oak!

In other news

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London’s 21st Century Woodsmen

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