Credit: FLPA / Alamy Stock Photo
Leaves
Dark green and variable in shape – some lobes are elaborate and pointed while other leaves have rounded, simple lobes. To touch they are rough and thick, shiny above but felted underneath.
Oak, Turkey (Quercus cerris)
A pretender to the throne, the Turkey oak was introduced to the UK in the 1700s and is now impacting our native oak populations. It’s less valuable to wildlife, but much faster growing and a host of the knopper oak gall wasp.
Quick facts
Common name: Turkey oak, Austrian oak
Scientific name: Quercus cerris
Family: Fagaceae
Origin: non-native
Turkey oak is a deciduous broadleaf tree which can grow to 30m. It was introduced to the UK as an ornamental tree in the 18th century. The bark is dark grey, maturing with various plates and deep fissures. On older trees, the trunk fissures are often streaked with orange near the base.
Look out for: the leaf lobes which are deeply cut with short points at the tips.
Identified in winter by: buds in clusters and the bud scales which extend beyond the bud. Each bud has more than three scales.
What does Turkey oak look like?
Credit: Zoonar Gmbh / Alamy Stock Photo
Flowers
The flowers appear on dangly catkins between April and May and are pollinated by wind.
Credit: Clare Topping / WTML
Fruits
The large acorns mature 18 months after pollination. Acorns are quite distinct – orange at the base, graduating to a green-brown tip, and with a 'hairy' acorn 'cup', which looks like a hat made of moss.
Not to be confused with:
Other oak species. It can be distinguished from native oaks by its 'hairy' acorn cups, which look like they are covered in a dense coating of moss.
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Turkey oak is host to the gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis, whose larvae damage the acorns of native British oaks. In 1998, the Ministry of Defence ordered the felling of all Turkey oaks on its UK bases.
Where to find Turkey oak
Native to south-east Europe and Asia Minor, from France across to the Balkans and Turkey, Turkey oak is widely planted in much of Europe and was reintroduced to UK woodlands in the 18th century.
You'll see it planted in parks and gardens and along roadsides in the UK. It can set seed and so has become naturalised in the UK. You may find it growing close to our native English oak and sessile oak.
Value to wildlife
Turkey oak is not as valuable to native wildlife as English and sessile oaks, but the catkins provide a source of pollen for bees and other insects, and the acorns are eaten by birds and small mammals (although they are said to be less palatable than native oak acorns). Birds may nest and roost among the branches.
Uses of Turkey oak
Turkey oak is mainly used as an ornamental tree, though it is less widely planted now, due to the damage its gall wasp can cause to native oak acorns.
Its timber has a fairly poor reputation, especially for use outdoors as it doesn’t weather well. However, it can be used indoors where it may crack and warp, but historically it was made into wainscoting (wood panelling). If well-seasoned it can be used for firewood.
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