How do you recognise Sessile oak (Quercus petraea)?

Leaf

Sdjurovic, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sessile oak

Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.

Also known as: Durmast oak, Cornish oak

Family: Fagaceae

25 to 35 m tall

Lowland and hillside forests, drier soils than pedunculate oak

Flowering: April – May

Part shade

Full sun

-30°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Acorns without a peduncle but distinctly petiolate leaves — exactly the opposite of the pedunculate oak. Sessile: acorns almost without a peduncle and distinctly petiolate leaves. Pedunculate: acorns on a long peduncle and almost sessile leaves, often with small auricles at the base. Intermediate individuals and hybrids exist.

🍃 Leaves

Leaves with a clearly visible petiole, base generally wedge-shaped or rounded without large auricles; rounded lobes.

🌸 Flowers

Inconspicuous catkins

🍎 Fruits

Acorns without a peduncle, attached directly to the twig

🪵 Bark

Grey, fissured, more regular than that of pedunculate oak

🗺️ Distribution

Europe, as far as the Caucasus; very common in France, preferring more free-draining soils than pedunculate oak

🐝 Value for pollinators

Male catkins producing abundant pollen, foliage hosting very many caterpillar species

✂️ Horticultural uses

Managed in forestry for its stave timber (cooperage) and planted in forests and large parks

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Acorns rich in tannins, toxic in large quantity to some domestic animals; harmless on contact

⚠️ Look-alike species

Sessile oak

Quercus petraea

English oak

Quercus robur

Sessile: acorns almost without a peduncle and distinctly petiolate leaves. Pedunculate: acorns on a long peduncle and almost sessile leaves, often with small auricles at the base. Intermediate individuals and hybrids exist.

See the full comparison →

Sessile oak

Quercus petraea