Homecoming/Heimkehr/Kotiinpaluu - Oak (Quercus)
- Edi Wipf
- Dec 30, 2019
- 5 min read
I was born and raised in the neighborhood of Oakland, located on the territory of the Osage Wahzhazhe people, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in many ways, my conceptions of home will always be adorned by oak trees.
Since my very first adventures, they have towered above me as I laughed, whirled, wondered, whispered, wandered across sidewalks and through wooded paths.
My spirits always soaring to reach their heights, I admired how their reverent branches embraced the vastness of sky and seemed to crack the bright blue open. With every moment together, I would search for and imagine what treasures might fall from their channels lovingly etched with effort.
Their many offerings.
The dimensions of these staggering giants have been embedded in human civilization for centuries, through both usage and rich legend.
The genus Quercus, commonly known as oak, constitutes a branch of the beech family (Fagaceae) and is comprised of about 450 to 600 different species.
Home Range:
Native to the northern hemisphere, oaks can be found throughout North and Central America, Columbia, the West Indies, Eurasia, and North Africa. Mexico is home to their greatest diversity.
Hallmarks:
🜃 First arising approximately 40 to 56 million years ago
🜃 Crested by distinctive lobed leaves that are spirally arranged, though some species diverge with serrated or smooth leaf margins.
🜃 Lovers of full sunlight, not tolerating shade well
🜃 Reaching heights between 20 to 42 meters (66 feet to 138 feet)
🜃 Rooting into the earth at depths up to three times their shoot height
🜃 Once of the age 15 to 20 years old, maker of blooms in the months of March and April, which then give way to thousands of acorns after wind pollination
🜃 Flowers on the same tree can be either male or female, a monoecious plant (mono from ancient Greek mónos, "sole", and -ecious from ancient Green oikía, "house" ).
🜃 Instances of living to be over a thousand years old
🜃 Creator of a high density (0.6 to 0.9 grams per cubic centimeter) wood that contains high levels of tannins, a class of astringent molecules
🜃 Protector of water and air quality, limiting surface erosion, recharging groundwater levels, reducing air pollution, abating noise, and modulating ambient temperatures in urban areas
Interrelationships:
The astringent character of oak hardwood not only provide protection against assault by wildfires, fungi, insects, and other pests, but also has called to us in our search for stability and permanence, as recognized in the building of shelters, furniture, and ships. Many species of birds and bats make nest or roost in oaks.
Made a source of fuel with its burning, oak wood has also been historically recast for a myriad of human pursuits, including to fashion drums imbued with a bright and loud resonance, smoke foods such as fish, meat, and cheese, and craft barrels for the making of alcoholic charms. While the bark of Quercus suber is used to cork, the bark of other Quercus species been employed for the tanning of leather, making of dyes, and as a medicine.
To protect its next generation, high tannin levels are found at one end of its fruit (the acorn). At the other end, high amounts of energy-rich molecules, called lipids, have accumulated - an enticement for those that may aid in its exploration of new areas (seed dispersal).
Many creatures utilize acorns as a major food source; this includes black bears, rabbits, deer, and even the domestic pig, though other livestock can be poisoned by tannins. Due to the vast quantities of acorns that nourish others, oaks are a critical support in maintaining surrounding biodiversity. After the careful removal of tannins, acorns can also be consumed by humans, often ground into a flour or roasted to make coffee.
While some fungal species cause wood rot, several others, including Ramaria flavosaponaria and tasty truffles Tuber magnatum and Tuber melanosporum, associate symbiotically with oak trees, a trading of goods (nutrients and water) and services (protection from disease). Tripartite symbioses with fungi, oak trees, and orchids have also been discovered*, which may prove vital for conserving many forest orchids.
Legacies:
Greek mythology ascribed the oak as sacred to Zeus, and the rustling of oak leaves was used in divining the god’s decrees.
The United States designated the oak as America’s National Tree in 2004, joining several other countries (including France, Germany, England, Bulgaria, and Jordan) that had given it similar appointment.
Challenges:
Oaks are greatly impacted by changes in land-use and grazing ranges of livestock, unsustainable harvesting practices, and climate change, with several species classified as being threatened, endangered, or rare. In an effort to better understand oak tree’s potential to adapt, as well as the numerous applications of their various characteristics, the genome of Quercus robur, an embodiment of 12 pairs of chromosomes, has been sequenced by researchers at the French INRA Bordeaux.
Musings: What fallows below are a few of the lessons my childhood observations of oaks extended on fortitude and provision.
These sentries in the starry, wintry white shed layers of solemnness in the excited murmurings of spring.
Perches and resting places for feathered fellow travelers and nesters. Acorns arriving in charming multitudes of colors and shapes; for both nourishment, as well as materials to be borrowed for tiny fairy dwellings I crafted in mornings as I waited the arrival of my school bus.
Ablaze during autumn seasons where I was armed with sweaters and raincoats and my own umbrella bobbing with the leaves not yet of the time for fully letting go; symphonies of light and color against backdrops and beats of rain. Momentary flight and a cacophony of brittle leaves to crunch in delight, as well as finding a softness in the music that the wind consolingly stirred in their wired frames.
The descending ravines of their bark riveted to the arching of their trunks up through space - a slow, graceful, silent dance in harmony to melodies I knew somewhere in my heart, but struggled to lock up in words; their complexity reverberating across many worlds of understanding. In reflection, I realize now I found a longing mirrored in the oak that was not so different, in essence, to that of the stirrings of my own soul. In that conversation between myself and the tree, I felt a deep solace blossoming in an awareness that languages of connection can, and do, exist beyond that what my shy nature had then been able to muster with family and classmates. Furthermore, I felt awash in waves of curiosity, wonder, and consolation, burgeoning in how part of myself could be held in the dance of another. A desire too, was calling out, in my voice or the other?, to keep going, to further seek understanding.
Are there particular elements of your environment that have brought you a sense of home? Please share below if you feel so inclined; I welcome your take and thoughts.
How has your understanding of home changed alongside with you across various stages, chapters of your life?
🜁🜂🜃🜄
References & Resources To Learn More:
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With gratitude & best wishes,
Edi
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