HOLM OAK - Quercus Ilex L. (Holly Oak or Evergreen Oak)
FAMILY: Fagaceae. Tree or shrub (3 to 18 m) Smooth bark of greyish colour. As it ages, the bark cracks into thin blackish-brown plates. Mediterranean.
The male flowers are ochre-yellow catkins, the female flowers will become fruits. (from April to May).
Found in clear woods and hillsides, in areas with a strong Mediterranean influence.
It can become a large tree with dark evergreen foliage. On dry land, it covers hot areas left fallow with dense coppice whose dark undergrowth, invaded by thorny brush, shelters a limited range of plants.
The holm oak is one of the top three trees used in the establishment of truffle orchards, or truffières. Truffles grow in an ectomycorrhizal association with the tree's roots. After a cut or a fire, its stump sends out numerous shoots. Appropriate selection promotes the growth of future tall trees.
The size and shape of the leaves vary from small, leathery and thornless at the top, to soft, large and thorny at the bottom. Their underside shows a dense network of hairs similar to a greyish felt.
