Side by side
Turkey oak or English oak? How to tell them apart
Quercus cerris · Quercus robur
You can tell a Turkey oak by its narrow, irregularly lobed leaves with pointed lobes, the long whiskers around its buds and the ‘mossy’ cups of its acorns; an English oak has leaves with rounded lobes and two small ear-like lobes at the base, no whiskers around the buds and acorns in smooth cups on long stalks.
Look at a shoot with buds: on the Turkey oak each bud is surrounded by long, curly whiskers, on the English oak it is not. The Turkey oak leaf has 4–8 pairs of pointed, irregular lobes and feels slightly rough on top; the English oak leaf has 4–7 pairs of rounded lobes, a very short stalk and two small ear-like lobes at the base. The acorns differ too: in a cup covered with long, curly scales on the Turkey oak, in a smooth cup on a long stalk on the English oak.
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Carlomorino assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain · source
Turkey oak Quercus cerris
| Turkey oak | English oak | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Alternate, 6–12 cm, oblong with 4–8 pairs of pointed, irregular lobes; upper side somewhat rough, underside greyish-hairy. Long, thread-like stipules surround the buds. | Alternate, 7–14 cm, with 4–7 pairs of rounded lobes. Leaf stalk very short (under 1 cm); the leaf base has two small ear lobes. |
| Flowering | May | April–May |
| Fruit | Acorns in a cup covered with long, curly, moss-like scales; they ripen only in their second year. | Acorns in 1–3s on a long stalk (3–8 cm). |
| Bark | Dark grey and deeply furrowed into long plates; orange-brown in the furrows. | Grey and deeply, coarsely fissured. |
| Shape and height | Broadleaf tree, 25–35 m | Broadleaf tree, 25–40 m |
| Site | Full sun, any garden soil, dry | Full sun, any garden soil, normal |
| Native to Belgium | No, planted | Yes |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | – | Yes, for butterflies and birds |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Not known to be poisonous | Not known to be poisonous |
| Pruning months | July–August and November–February | July–August and November–February |
The best feature in each season
- Spring
- The English oak flowers in April–May with hanging, yellowish-green catkins, the Turkey oak in May; on both, the catkins appear together with the young leaves.
- Summer
- Compare the leaves: narrow with pointed lobes, slightly rough above and grey and hairy beneath on the Turkey oak; with rounded lobes, hairless and with ear-like lobes at the base on the English oak.
- Autumn
- English oak acorns ripen in a single summer and hang in groups of 1–3 on a long stalk. Turkey oak acorns only ripen in their second year and sit in a ‘mossy’ cup with long, curly scales.
- Winter
- Without leaves, the buds help: on the Turkey oak the thread-like stipules stay around the buds. Turkey oak bark has orange-brown fissures between the plates; English oak bark is grey and deeply furrowed.
Where do they grow?
The English oak is native and grows in woods, shelterbelts, pastures and rows of trees throughout Belgium and the Netherlands. The Turkey oak comes from southern and south-eastern Europe and Turkey and is found here mainly in parks and avenues, where it has long been planted.
Which one for your garden?
- Both grow too big for an ordinary garden: the English oak reaches 25–40 m, the Turkey oak 25–35 m with a crown of around 15 m. In a large garden, a pasture or a row of trees, the English oak is the better choice: no tree here supports as much life.
- The Turkey oak copes better with drought and chalk, but is less valuable for wildlife. On both, acorns and young leaves are poisonous to horses and cattle in large amounts, and in summer the oak processionary moth can spread its stinging hairs.
Did you know? The Dutch name for the Turkey oak, moseik or ‘moss oak’, comes from the acorn cup: with its long, curly scales it looks like a tuft of moss.
Read on
- Plant profile: Turkey oak
- Plant profile: English oak
- Turkey oak: when and how to prune
- English oak: when and how to prune
- Identification key