Oak Galls

This morning I stumbled across these photos lying forgotten on my phone since a wonderful late summer walk in the Essex/Suffolk countryside back in August. There were lots of these galls on the oaks we passed, along with lots of healthy looking acorns.





I particularly liked this (slightly blurry!) one, where you can see the tinge of red..



I didn't know anything about oak galls, except that they were used for making ink in medieval times and had a lot of tannin, so I did a bit of reading up and thought other folks might also like to see the links I found. I had no idea that there were so many different types and was glad to discover that the wasps that make them don't pose any real threat to the trees.

Here's what the RHS have to say, here's a picture of a 'Knopper Gall' which seems the closest to my photos (double click to enlarge)

Here are Wikipedia entries on the 'Knopper Gall' in particular and Gall Wasps in general

and here is a link to the British Plant Gall Society with instructions for recording oak gall sitings.

Oak

The Greeks held the oak tree (Quercus robur) sacred and the Romans dedicated it to Jupiter. In the pre-Christian west, the oak was associated with thunder-gods such as Thor because of its low electrical resistance which caused it to be struck by lightening. Couples married under oak trees before the advent of Christianity, when preaching often took place under the shade of an oak - leading to 'gospel oak' place names.

The oak is the emblem of hospitality and strength. Its bark, leaves and acorns all have medicinal uses. The bark is used to tan leather and dye wool purple, while the acorns are used to feed swine.

The astringent effects of oak were well known in ancient times and Galen applied the bruised leaves to heal wounds. The decoction has been used as a gargle in chronic sore throat and the decoction of acorns and bark, made with milk, has been considered an antidote to poisonous herbs and medications.

It is the bark which is now mostly used in medicine - it is collected in the spring from young trees and dried in the sun. It can be taken as a substitute for quinine in intermittent fever, taken with chamomile flowers, and is useful in chronic diarrhoea and dysentery.

A bitter, strongly astringent, antiseptic herb which reduces inflammation and controls bleeding.


PLEASE NOTE: These notes on the history and use of herbs have been compiled for general interest and are not intended as medical advice, for which you should consult a professional herbalist.

BIBLIOGRAPY:
'A Modern Herbal' Mrs M. Grieve FRHS ed. Mrs C. F. Leyel (1973)
'The Herb Society's Complete Medicinal Herbal' Penelope Ody MNIMH (1993)
'RHS Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses' Deni Brown (2002)