A remarkable tree in many regions, the oak has accompanied man in his daily life since prehistoric times. Let's go and discover this thousand-year-old sovereign.
An essential tree
The oak provides man with protection through its solid frameworks, fire through its wood and charcoal, food through its boiled acorns, and medicine through its tannic bark. It has adapted to all European climates, and comes in many species. Pedunculate and sessile oaks are among the most common, holm and cork oaks appreciate milder climates, the pubescent oak is satisfied with arid limestone soils, the tauzin oak prefers light siliceous soils... Trees are omnipresent in our daily lives. The pedunculate and the sessile oak mark the majority of our landscapes with their powerful silhouettes, and if their wood is always famous, their nourishing role, their medicinal properties, some forgotten utilities, deserve to be rediscovered.
Oak recipes
If acorns have long been used to feed pigs, their contribution to human nutrition was far from negligible. All the more so in times of famine. They have the advantage of being rich in starch, but their harshness translates into a high content of tannins, toxic, causing digestive, renal and nervous disorders. The detoxification takes place by roasting, which allows the elimination of part of the tannins. The boiling with several waters is a sure process, provided that all the stages are respected with precision. The acorns thus carefully removed from their tannins could be dried and then ground into flour, mixed with wheat or other cereals and used to make pancakes. From prehistoric times to the last world war, acorns provided an important resource. Roasted, they were also used as a substitute for coffee.
Some oaks in southern Europe produce sweet acorns, the horehound oak, Quercus ilex sbp.ballota, but also the tauzin oak or the cork oak. Their uses were close to the chestnut.
Aged in oak barrels, the wine and various alcohols take on an incomparable color and bouquet. The wood of the barrels comes from different forests, each one conferring specific qualities.
Medicinal properties
The medicinal properties of oak are not well known, but they deserve attention. All oaks have a high concentration of tannins and are therefore classified as astringent tonics. The bark of the branches of 3, 4 years old, used fresh or dried, was reputed for its haemostatic, febrifuge, antiseptic, anti-diarrheal actions... In external use its use covers a great number of evils, the internal use is more delicate, the possibilities of intoxications being quite real. The leaves, harvested in summer, dried, show properties similar to the bark. The acorns also have similar properties. The galls, numerous and varied on the oaks, concentrate the tannins and are used like the bark, with caution.
The oak, a true ecosystem, lives with a whole host of insects, spiders, birds, but also many plants, some of which also have medicinal properties. Combined with their host tree, polypode, mistletoe, lichen, were all the more sought after.
Uses of the oak
The pedunculate oak and the sessile oak have more or less the same properties, the distinction of their woods is difficult. Of excellent quality, these woods have many uses. Frames, railroad sleepers, posts, are known to be strong and indestructible. Naval constructions, bridges, locks, took advantage of its unlimited durability in wet environments. Hubs, wheels, rims of old tanks still resist to bad weather, exposed now in parks and gardens. Carpentry, cabinet making, find many uses for it.
Cut, split easily, the wood will become heat in the fireplaces, or charcoal for the metallurgy. The pollarded trees, regularly pruned for the faggots, are noticed for their particular port. The tannin of the bark has long treated the skins, sold in the form of powder called "tan". The dried galls, combined with water and iron, were used to make a black salt, the basis for writing ink.
Some stories...
The oak tree is surrounded by many myths and legends. The gods of war, lightning and storms lived in it. But it was also a solar tree, of fertility, strength, longevity and endurance.
The dryads reside under its bark, and where they live can spring a living source ...
A sacred tree, the oak was perhaps one of the first temples under which men gathered.
Linked since prehistoric times, man and the oak have seen their relationship evolve over the centuries. Solid and branched, it now hosts the most beautiful huts, and the dreams of children.
