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Quercus cerris L.

The tree is 30 meters tall and its circumference is around 3.50 meters.

It belongs to the family of the Fagaceae and it hails from the Mediterranean area.

Thanks to a well-developed root system it is able to bare aridity periods. It tolerates limestone, soil compacting and it has no particular needs, but it prefers anyway bitter substrates.

It is possible to find wild Turkey oaks in the Po valley in Italy, where it is likely it has been implanted, and in Friuli, while it is absent in Sardinia. It is spread in all the Appennine ridge, especially from Tuscany down. Turkey oak orchards are highly spread in all the province of Potenza in Basilicata, at an altitude slightly superior to the one of the downy oaks. The wood is different from the one of other oaks, because it does not contain tannin and so is less resistant to humidity and it breaks down easily along the fibres.

The wood was used in the past in order to build railway sleepers, staves for barrels or wheels rays.

Nowadays it is used often as fuel.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)