English oak
Explanation
Of course, in a park with such a wide variety of trees, the oak cannot be missed. There are two types of native oak, the English oak (quercus robur) and the sessile oak (quercus petraea). In this case, it is an English oak, which is most common in our country. There are a number of them in the city park, of which this is one. Oaks are known for providing shelter for many other species. All kinds of things grow from, on, and in an oak tree. Mosses, ferns, fungi, insects, spiders, and birds – they all live off of what an oak tree has to offer. Essentially, an oak is a very generous tree that we should cherish for the sake of biodiversity.
Relationship with humans
Why we do what we do
Oak trees are not common in the city. Other trees are much more suitable as city trees. But as soon as we go for a walk in the woods, we are sure to come across them. The woods around Maastricht are full of bronze-green oak. And without thinking much of it, we often come into daily contact with oak floors and doors, and we use oak furniture.
Joseph Beuys had 7,000 oak trees planted in Kassel, a project that his son completed in 1987 with the planting of the final tree.
