Turkey oak

Scientific name: Quercus cerris
Common name: Turkey oak
The turkey oak has no trouble declaring its genus: it is a quercus. The most inexperienced might mistake it for an oak, but its grayish-red bark makes it unmistakable. It can grow up to 35 meters, developing a dense, rounded crown. Another distinguishing feature from other oaks is the presence of reddish-brown acorns covered with curled scales on top. We encounter it from Italy to the Black Sea, being a plant that is bebe adapted to the Mediterranean climate. It prefers clay or tuffaceous soils. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

In times of food crisis, acorns were consumed either cooked or in the form of flour, from which “acorn bread” was made.

Its bark is used to make the staves of the barrels in which precious wines are still aged. Its wood, widely used as fuel, was also used in the past for the construction of railway sleepers.