Types of Oak Trees
There are around more 600 species of Oak trees more common out of them are the 2 which is red oak and a white oak. There’s Irish Oak, English Oak which are more common in UK and Europe & California live Oak which is found in the United States. Even Chestnut Oak is mainly found in the Eastern parts of US.
The Scientific name for the oak tree is Genus Quercus. There are plenty of uses of Oak timber many of them probably you may not have even noticed. Here i have collated majority of them. Just like a Baobab tree from the African region even Oaks live long but not the same.
Oaks are mostly common in the Northern Hemisphere. With the help of Dr Lucy Rowland (University of Edinburgh) on a BBC documentary on an Oak Tree in the UK it was revealed that, It could take in approx 70 litres of water every hour.
Why are Oak trees so important to us?
Due to its quality and strength it has its importance and the uses of oak timber in the ancient historic ships. Certain varieties of this tree are known for its real strength and some are known for its medicinal side of it. Vikings Canoes were made of wood and we could say that they did use Oak wood due to its long lasting quality.
The variety known as Turkey oak is more durable than English Oak hence it could have been widely used in building ships. However, we can only assume due to the more ready availability in the area. As far as uses are concerned it is believed that even Romans used Holm Oak in their cart’s wheel. Oak trees have set a basis of the wooden uses just like Teak wood & Bamboos in the South East Asia.
One of the valuable qualities of a large oak tree is also that it evaporates or gives off water through its stomata. That’s not a quality the amount of the water it gives off in water vapour is a staggering 151,000 litres of water a year. In other words, approx 400 to 413 litres water a day or 105 gallons of water a day.  However, takes in from 227.304 litres a day.
Why do I mention this is because since tree’s water evaporates into the atmosphere and forms a cloud which in turn comes back to us in the form of clean fresh water?
Due to climate change, this effect could get accelerated hence unusual patterns could be seen. In a way that due to heating up of the earth the water starts to evaporate fast since the humidity starts to reduce faster.
During natural disasters, these trees could help
Along with improving the landscape, its major benefit is thickly covered leaves on spread out branches as it blocks the heavy wind from blowing. This means during the times of stormy weather it could be quite useful. This also means that if the tree has got old and not in a good condition there could be a risk of a tree falling off. However, we don’t find such cases more often since the roots of these trees are quite widely spread.
One important benefit that many of you may have noticed & it is the importance of these trees during the time of earthquakes. During the time of the earthquake it is dangerous to stand near the building or concrete house structure. This is not the case with the trees. We have seen trees bending off almost but they do not fall as the buildings do. Hence the risk of people getting injured by the tree during the earthquake is comparatively low.
Oak tree benefits include
Health benefits of oak include wound healing quality in its bark is known to have an astringent quality. It is known to have anti inflammatory properties too hence it reduces the inflammation and even skin irritation especially oak bark is special. In fact wooden combs are believed to be good for scalp too.
It is usually not poisonous however, since we haven’t analyses all 600 species, we do not know if they could be harmful or poisonous. There is an important thing that it contains in it is called Tanic acid and it prevents from fungus and other insects too. The benefit of having this tree around your backyard or garden is also that it is a hardy tree and doesn’t burn so easily even in forest fires.
Benefits are a plenty but depending on where you are located and how it suits you is the question. There are people who are allergic or are quite sensitive to certain things and if you are allergic to Oak or acorn then it may not be suitable for you. It is better to get doctors consultation before you use it for any such purposes. Since you may find a lot of people giving advice but its better to do your due diligence.
Uses of Oak Timber
It was used to make ships in the olden days. It was proven to be really helpful. In fact HMS victory was made of oak. There are many ancient architecture that are made of oak wood including the houses. In the houses, the flooring wood is also made of Oak timber. Dining tables are made of oak timber too.
You may even find them in wooden ladders. Wooden barrels to carry liquids or powders. These days even the car & yacht dash boards have a wooden interior to have a vintage look. We have also seen many luxury cars also made of Oak wood exterior. It is supposed to be so longer lasting that it has outlived people and & their future generations too.
As oppose to the Asian Trees such as Baobab & Teak wood etc. Oak has its own unique quality and because of this reason people preferred more of Oak items rather than an imported wood. This may not be entirely true still as its a thought since the availability of this tree in the East Asia and Africa is not so much or its not commonly found.
While Camping or travelling
It may be possible that you may end up in a place where yo do not have much food left. If you know how to prepare something with what you have around you then it could be really be life saving. There are people who do give advice and have shown videos while camping and them preparing food with acorn seeds too.
Story of oak trees
Oak Trees have been so iconic to the west world that even schools and institutions have decided to add their names. They named their business after oak tree or its fruit (seed)Â that is Acorn. Ancient mythological stories are a plenty and they are mostly related to Greece, East Europe & Scandinavia. Ever heard of the story of Pinocchio then you may know that he was made of wood too. Well, that’s a good question if was made of Oak wood or some other.
In Olden days there used to be massive forts with Huge Doors at the entrance made of wood. Based on the country the kingdom was the kind of wood was used. These had to be really strong. You may still find them till date in many of the castle doors.
Then there are most familiar stories we may know of about oak trees
If you have seen a Disney’s cartoon, you may know the castle surrounded by a trench with water and the wooden bridge that can be lifted and closed any time. In many old movies too you may be able to see the same. The same type of Doors you may have even seen probably on the Game of Thrones, Brave heart and many other classic castle movies.
Oak tree farm in Sunderland. Grevillea Robusta is a silver oak. In fact there is a place called Oakville in Ontario, Canada. Oakville has a great history behind its name. It is believed to have been named after white Oak in the 1800s.
Dirleton Castle reconstruction of medieval defenses. Drawbridge raised 1st double door locked, 2nd door yett like with drawbar locked, 3rd slot portcullis dropped into position & 4th door closed to Courtyard. These doors were blown up with mortar bombs during siege in 1650. pic.twitter.com/Aal1lzLlUO
— Andrew Spratt (@andrewsp2009) 28 March 2019
What is oak tree used in?
- Home Furniture
- Home Planks
- Fencing
- Canoes
- Classic Wall clock frame
- Pet homes
- Artifacts
- Toys (Nesting dolls, puzzles,
- Basketball court floor
- Indoor Squash court
- Cutting board
- Boats
- Bangles
- Bracelets
- Coffins
- Paper weight
- Shoe shape holder
- Racks
- Boxes
- Garden furniture
- Shed
- Wooden houses
- Drawers
- Dinner Plates
- Bed
- Book holder
- Speakers stand
- Wooden mortar
- Mirror Frame
- Wooden Doors
- Oak wood chest
- Computer stand
- Hammer handle
- Tool box
- Coffe Spoons
- School supplies
- Ring
- Rocking Chairs
- Swing
- Classic swing
- Cradle
- Clothes drying stand
- Poles
- Serving tray
- Jewellery boxes
- Pen box
- Serving Spoons
- Vase
- Chariots
- Camel cart
- Classic Phone box
- Radio frames
- Gramophone frames
- Wooden Comb
- Brush
- Duster
- Sweeping brush
- Mop handles
- Broom stick handles
- Planters
- Basket
- Bath Tub
- Piano
- Guitar
- Xylophone
- Drum
- Bongo
- Flute
- Boating paddles
- Chaar pai (An Indian outdoor bedding with cloth or jute weavings)
- Oak Wood Bin
- Hand Fan
- Drum sticks
- Skewers
- Javeline
- Flag pole
- Bow & Arrow
- Japanese Practice Katana
- Oak wood Bokken
- Wrist watch frame
- Catapult
- Hand held wood shredder
- Oak wood bottle
- Sea Saw
- Chisel Handle
- Axe Handle
- Cricket Bat
- Hockey stick
- Baseball bat
- Wooden foot bridges
- Benches in the park
- Oak wood Water turbines
- Oil distillation turbine (especially in olive oil compression)
- Shoe Horn (slider)
- Keyboard Case
- NunChaku (martial arts)
- Skipping rope handles
- Chop sticks
- Wooden lids
- Soup Bowls
- Forks
- Classic Smoking pipes
- Rolling pin
- Butcher’s log
- Wooden Chest
- Billiards Table
- Oak wood Chess
- Fuss ball table
- Bowling bottles too
Oak Tree Leaves
The shape and the colour of the leaf can help you identify its breed. The red oak leave may be red obviously but if its not the season then to identify them is by checking out its tip which will appear to be more sharper & edgy. The white oak leaf are not as sharp, they are more broader with a roundish tips.
What are acorns & How acorns from Oak tree were used ?
Acorns are a fruit of Oak tree and the seed of it produce an oak tree. Just as you may find the leaves have different shapes and they help us to identify each of them, same way the Acorn also have different shapes. Generally Acorns also are used as an item of decoration. People also use is in a pot pouri which is a collection of products that emit beautiful & refreshing fragrance.
Acorn flour can be used to bake a bread and also make a coffee out of it. Quite interesting!
Oak Tree Products found on amazon
- Oak wood chairs
- Table to keep Television with drawers made of oak timbers are usually strong and stylish
These are some of the most common items you may find on amazon if you wish to buy it. As always if you like this article then please share it.
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