Day 16 The Anatomy of a Tree

The oak is reckoned to be the king of trees in the western world. Its august appearance features the main trunk growing upward and branches out towards the top, forming a dense canopy. It flourishes in places where the water is sufficient in soil. Under optimal conditions, an oak can grow to a height of more than 40m and live an average of 600 years.

The oak is a deciduous tree, which means it sprouts in spring, thrives in summer, turns red in autumn, and remains dormant in winter. When spring returns, the buds are formed with protective scales and then grow into new leaves and branches. The leaves are lobed on either side of the main vein. In summer, the tree blossoms, increasing in height and thickening its trunk with the nutrients produced by means of photosynthesis in which the leaves take in the energy from sunlight and CO2 to generate sugars.

The oak doesn't start blooming and producing acorns until it is around 20 years of age. Since it is hermaphroditic, the oak produces both male and female flowers and self-pollinates. The male flowers hang in showy, long, yellowish-green clusters called catkins while the female ones are much more unobtrusive, which look much like tiny leaf buds.

The acorn is the seed of the oak tree, which is the favourite of the squirrel in the movie Ice Age. It is oval, but half part of it is wrapped by remains of the carpel, which look like a cartoonist’s hat. Some species have sweet-tasting acorns; others are bitter. Generally, it takes one year or two (depending on species) for acorns to mature, but external factors like bad weather conditions may postpone the producing ofseeds. Not until the tree has regained energy can it continue this process.