Quercus Coccifera seed (kermes oak)

LATIN NAME: QUERCUS COCCIFERA

COMMON NAME: Kermes Oak

The kermes oak glitters the dense, evergreen shrub or small tree with the small, glossy, spiny-edged, dark-green leaves that glitter through the year, the leaves glittring over the compact, rounded crown, the small, green catkins opening through the spring, the small, round, brown acorns following in the shallow cups. The shrub grows slowly into the dense, rounded hummock, and it stands the heat and the dry, stony ground well. It likes the sun, and the sharp-draining soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The glossy evergreen foliage of the kermes oak gives it a recognised place in the research on the warm-dry evergreen oaks of the great oak group, and the coccifera species appears in the studies of the leaf waxes and the historic dye connection. The work looks at the way the spiny-edged leaves glitter through the year, the ancient kermes dye value, and the seed biology. The historians note the old dye trade, and the growers of the warm-climate evergreen and rock-garden shrubs keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the warm, dry garden, the kermes oak glitters the warm garden with the small, glossy leaves. The foliage gives the year-round cover, the acorns feed the birds, and the shrub has served the historic red kermes dye. It grows well in the sharp-draining, sunny ground. Glossy, spiny-edged and history-rich.

To grow the Kermes Oak from seed, sow the acorns into the shallow, gritty drills of the open bed in the autumn, then cover them well, keep the drills gently watered.

Sow the acorns into the shallow, gritty drills of the open bed, and give the young shrubs the open, sunny spot. The glitter leaves come within a few seasons. , and the young shrubs surface through the spring. The glitter leaves will gloss within a few seasons.

 

 

 

 

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NOME:Quercus coccifera

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FAMIGLIA: Fagaceae

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DESCRIZIONE: Genere di circa 600 specie di alberi e arbusti monoici, semi decidui o sempreverdi, ampiamente distribuiti in boschi e macchia dell’emisfero settentrionale. Il Quercus coccifera è un arbusto o piccolo albero cespuglioso, compatto, sempreverde, con corteccia grigia liscia, che si fessura negli esemplari maturi. Foglie coriacee, simili all’agrifoglio, da ovate a oblungo-lanceolate, con margini spinosi, lucide, verde scuro. Porta ghiande solitarie, sferiche od ovoidi in cupole molto spinose. Può raggiungere i 10 m di altezza.

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ESIGENZE PEDOCLIMATICHE: Predilige terreni profondi, fertili, ben drenati preferibilmente alcalini; ma si adatta a crescere anche in quelli secchi, sassosi, superficiali e acidi. Va impiantata in pieno sole. Molto resistente alla siccità è ideale per giardini senz’acqua. Specie moderatamente rustica resiste al freddo fino a -10°/-12°C. Ideale per realizzare siepi sia libere che topiarie o come cespuglio isolato.

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