The Kaive Oak ( lv, Kaives ozols) is an

oak tree An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

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Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

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Sēme Parish Sēme Parish ( lv, Sēmes pagasts) is an administrative unit of Tukums Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia. The administrative center is Sēme. Towns, villages and settlements of Sēme parish * Kaive * Brizule * Rideļi * – pari ...

, Tukums Municipality, Latvia. It is situated about 500 m from Kaive Manor, in a meadow. It is protected as a

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...

in Latvia.

Perimeter A perimeter is a closed path that encompasses, surrounds, or outlines either a two dimensional shape or a one-dimensional length. The perimeter of a circle or an ellipse is called its circumference. Calculating the perimeter has several pr ...

: 10.4 m, height: 18.0 m, projection of the crown: 250 m², length of branches: up to 13.7 m. It is the thickest tree in Latvia and in all Baltic States.Outstanding trees in Latvia
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History

Natural Monument Researcher Guntis Eniņš claims that Kaive Oak is almost 400 years old, not 800-1000 years, as claimed in some sources, based on the 3 mm tree annual or 2.5 cm average annual increase in stem thickness. In 1920s during agrarian reform in Latvia land of Kaive Manor was divided into 32 farms. Land with the ''Kaive oak'' become the property of J. Stroman, who named his farm the ''Senči'' (Ancestors)."

Lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...

struck at the top of the tree in the 1920s, leaving on oak only one large branch. The first publication in the press about this oak is in ''Nedēļa'' (Week) magazine on October 30, 1924: Eniņš, however, rejects the possibility that such a great oak could have grown in the woods and that the landlord's fields could have been an "ancient site of sacrifice."

References

{{Reflist Individual oak trees Natural monuments of Latvia Individual trees in Latvia Tukums Municipality