Wednesday Street Tree #19

Cork oak

There are lots and lots of oaks, but maybe only a handful that you might commonly encounter in the UK and even fewer that are planted as street trees. It was surprising, therefore, to discover a young oak growing on a street in the swanky south London neighbourhood of Dulwich Village, and even more so when it became apparent that it was a cork oak.

The cork oak is a charming species, one of the southern European evergreen oaks, and the species whose thick, spongy bark has been sustainably harvested for millennia. It is not a species grown in the UK for its remarkable bark, rather it is an occasional curiosity, so if you do encounter one, the bark will be intact. There can be very few of these trees gracing pavements or even grass verges, usually they crop up in the gardens of stately homes or occasionally parks. Having said that, there is at least one other specimen I know of that might just about fall into the category of street trees, and that is a sprawling old tree close to the North Circular at Chingford…

Cork oak bark

What is it?

Cork oak
Quercus suber

Where is it?

Dulwich Village, London SE21 7BJ
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A north London cork oak

50. North Circular Cork Oak