A sample entry from unpublished manuscript, Ancient Food Plants and Modern Food Plants, by James K. Sayre, Copyright, 2003. All rights reserved.
Oak, Cork - Quercus suber - family: Fagaceae (Beech Family).
[Etymology: oak Middle English ok, ook, oke, ak, Old English ac, compare: Dutch eik, Old Norse eik, German eiche, cork Middle English cork, Dutch kurk or Low German korck, Spanish corcho, cork, Spanish alcorque, cork sole or shoe, probably from Spanish Arabic al-qurq, Latin quercus, oak].
This is an evergreen tree that may grow to one hundred feet high. It has oval-shaped toothed dark green leaves. In the spring it produces catkins of male flowers and spikes of female flowers. The female flowers are followed by oblong-shaped acorns
The Cork bark of Oak has long been used in Spain, Italy, Portugal, southern France and northern Africa as stoppers or "corks" for wine bottles. Traditional European folk use of acorns as a food. The furrowed thick crinkled bark of the Cork Oak has traditionally been harvested and used as cork, especially for stoppering wine bottles and for use as insulation. Cork has many industrial applications due to its unique qualities. Native to the Mediterrean area. Cultivated as an ornamental in coastal California in North America. Best cultivated in USDA hardiness zones 7-9 in North America.
Other name: Cork.
End.
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