Cultivation and Uses
The wood is hard and tough, and has been used since ancient times for general construction purposes as pillars, tools, wagons (Hesiod, Works and Days 429), vessels, and wine casks. It used as well as firewood, or in charcoal manufacture.
The Holm Oak is one of the top three trees used in the establishment of truffle orchards, or truffieres. Truffles grow in an ectomycorrhizal association with the tree's roots.
The acorns, like those of the Cork Oak, are edible (toasted or as a flour), and are an important food for free-range pigs reared for ibérico ham production. Boiled in water, the acorns can also be used as a medicinal treatment for injury dis-infections.
It can be clipped to form a tall hedge, and it is suitable for coastal windbreaks, in any well drained soil. It forms a picturesque rounded head, with pendulous low-hanging branches. Its size and solid evergreen character gives it an imposing architectural presence that makes it valuable in many urban and garden settings. While Holm Oak can be grown in much of maritime northwestern Europe, it is not tolerant of cold continental winters.
Read more about this topic: Quercus Ilex
Famous quotes containing the word cultivation:
“The cultivation of literary pursuits forms the basis of all sciences, and in their perfection consist the reputation and prosperity of kingdoms.”
—Marquês De Pombal (1699–1782)