Quercus libani

What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds, Sap, Nut

The seeds, about 2.5cm in diameter, are cooked before eating. They can be dried, ground into a powder, and used as a thickening in stews or mixed with cereals for making bread. The seeds contain bitter tannins that must be leached out by thoroughly washing in running water, though this also removes many minerals. Either whole seeds or ground powder can be used. Leaching whole seeds can take several days or even weeks; placing them in a cloth bag in a running stream is one traditional method. Grinding to powder speeds the process, and a simple taste test indicates when sufficient tannin has been removed. The traditional approach was to bury seeds in boggy ground overwinter and dig up the germinating seeds in spring once most astringency had gone. Roasted seeds serve as a coffee substitute.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It suits hardiness zones 7-10.

Australia, Europe, Iran, Iraq, Mediterranean, Middle East, Syria, Turkey, Türkiye,

How to Identify

A small tree. It grows 8 m tall and spreads 8 m wide. It loses its leaves during the year. The branches are slender. The bark is dark and greyish-black. The leaves are oblong or sword shaped. They are glossy green above and have teeth with bristles along the edge. The fruit are acorns which have short stalks.

How to Grow

Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade. Prefers warmer summers than are usually experienced in Britain. The seed ripens in its second year and is frequently produced in Britain. Intolerant of root disturbance, trees should be planted in their permanent positions whilst young. Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.

Propagation: Seed loses viability quickly if allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool overwinter, but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed with protection from mice and squirrels. Small quantities can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Because plants develop a deep taproot, they should be moved to their permanent positions as soon as possible — trees sown in situ produce the best results. Do not leave trees in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons, as they transplant very poorly after that point.

Medicinal Uses

Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, and dysentery.

Other Uses

A mulch of the leaves repels slugs and grubs, though fresh leaves should not be used as they can inhibit plant growth. Oak galls, caused by insect larvae living and feeding inside them, yield a rich source of tannin once the insect has pupated and left, and can also be used as a dyestuff.

Quercus libani, the Lebanon oak, is a species of oak native to the eastern Mediterranean in western Asia, including in western Syria, Lebanon, eastern Turkey, and northern Iraq and Iran.

Notes

There are about 600 Quercus species.

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