Scientific name: Quercus robur

Origin: Native to the UK

Key identifying traits: Has smooth and silvery brown bark becomes rugged and deeply fissured with age. Leaves have the distinct lobed shape, usually growing to around 10cm long. It only produces acorns after the tree is 40 years old.

In the wood: May be found in broadleaf woodland within the canopy layer. A large tree growing up to 40m tall.

Did you know… oaks provide a habitat rich in biodiversity; they support more life forms than any other native trees. They host hundreds of species of insect, supplying many British birds with an important food source. In autumn mammals such as badgers and deer take advantage of the falling acorns.