22. Cork Oak

(Quercus Suber)

Next to the HUB's warm sunny wall is Washington's largest Cork Oak. This species is the famous Mediterranean native from which people obtain cork; strip off the spongy bark, and it grows back better than before--a great boon for humanity. Like many oaks, this one is evergreen, with rather scurfy, dull leaves, prickly and often cupped. The leaves are admirably adapted to a hot, dry existence. Like all oaks, this produces acorns, the seeds it reproduces itself from. The vigorous "Scarlet Sentinel" maples near this rare oak are believed to be a hybrid of red and silver maples, two common species from eastern North America.

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Campus Public Art Program
University of Washington
Box 353440
Seattle, WA 98195
Published Online: July 1997