Chinese cork oak, from the Far East, offers the unique combination of corky bark and chestnut-like leaves in an upright tree.

It favours dry soils and has proven a good tree in Canberra clay, weathering the city’s dry years rather well.  This deciduous tree starts as an upright, pyramidal form to later develop a more spreading crown.

The signature bark is corky, pinkish grey to brown grey of a most satisfying texture.

This oak needs full sun, like most oaks, growing long, narrow leaves to 15cm and makes a great shade, street, avenue and farm or woodland tree.

Other features include:

• leaves are shiny, green, quite similar to those of the chestnut, but with grey undersides and only tiny bristles at the end of each vein
• good yellow to brown autumn colour
• slow to moderate growth
• small, round acorns 1-2 cm across almost fully encased in the very hairy cup
• a straight bole to 1m DBH
• is tolerant of dry soils and thus drought to about 500mm p.a.
• fire tolerance, for the bark offers good protection
• moderately shade tolerant
• the dead wood of this tree is used to grow the “mushroom of immortality” in China. (Ganoderma lucidum)
  

Chinese cork oak is cold hardy to around -25C  so suits the tablelands and ranges of SE Australia. In its home range, it has grown to over 200 years old.