Location 4

Sister Sapling Name: Bespoak

Description: I am an English Oak Tree and I am very popular. You can tell me by my leaves which are fairly long in length, and have deep round lobes giving my wiggly edges. They have almost no stems but grow in bunches together and they usually appear around May. I grow long dangly catkins that help distribute pollen into the air. Squirrels love me for my fruits which are called Acorns! They form on long stems that have cupples at the end, these are the cup shape holders the acorns grow from. They start green and eventually turn brown. once this happens the acorn nut loosens from the cupple and falls to the canopy below and sprout again the following spring. The sessile oak is similar however it's leaves have stems instead, and the acorns do not. This is the easiest way to tell us apart.  

Medicinal properties: The bark has highly astringent properties which cause cells to contract, helpful for agues and haemorrhages and bleeding gums. .You can also decoct (boil down) the bark in water, and gargle the substance to assist with sore throats. additionally, decocting my bark and acorns together with milk can serve as an antidote to poisonous herbs. 

Spiritual properties: The Greeks consider oak trees sacred. And the ancient Romans drew connection of the oak tree with Jupiter. Those deem high in society may be found wearing oak leaves. Oak trees can take 80 years to grow 20 inches in diameter, but live for so long that their trunk can grow incredibly wide as mother trees to many forests ( like the Fairlop oak in Hainault forest. For this, and their gift to wild life, many indigenous cultures like druids and celts would gather in oak sanctuaries for sacred ceremonies. even their acorns were used in divination ceremonies. The Celts referred to the oak as the tree of dagda and saw it as protective over their leaders and warriors. The oak wood is believed to bring good luck by knocking on the wood, so long as you ask permission from the oak tree spirits first. Just by sitting under and oak tree, you may feel an angelic presence with a message. Burning oak trees can solidify intentions you wish to manifest. As it's roots in the ground stretch as far as it's branches to the sky, many 'witches' have associated it with the quote, 'as above, so below'.

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Sustainable treatment: Oak Tree forests are one of the most powerful native forest support systems in the world. They provide food for birds, badgers, deers and squirrels with their acorns; my soft leaves break down at the base of the tree in autumn and provide a leaf rich mould which supports stag beetles, fungi like the oakbug milkcap which forms coporative relationships with the trees roots and hosts birds in any holes or crevices. Being abundant in oak trees is no bad thing, so keep them around so we can suuport british wildlifw just as well.