The Sobreiro Monumental (''Monumental Cork Oak''), also known has The Whistler Tree, is a 236 year old
cork oak
''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the cores ...
from
Ãguas de Moura,
Palmela
Palmela () is a town and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 62,831, in an area of 465.12 km².
The municipality is located in the Lisboa Region and Setúbal District, about south of Lisbon. The municipal holiday is 1 Ju ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
.
It was voted
European Tree of the Year
The European Tree of the Year is an annual contest held to find the most 'loveable tree' in Europe.
The contest is held by the Environmental Partnership Association (EPA), an organization supported by the European Land Owners Association and the ...
in 2018, it has been classified as "Tree of Public Interest" since 1988 and is registered in the ''
Guinness Book of Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' as "the largest cork oak in the world".
It is around tall
with a
diameter at breast height
Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements.
Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...
of .
It was planted in 1783–1784, at that time the
Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* Kingdom (British TV series), ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 200 ...
reigned by Queen
Maria I
Dom (title), Dona Maria I (17 December 1734 – 20 March 1816) was Queen of Portugal from 24 February 1777 until her death in 1816. Known as Maria the Pious in Portugal and Maria the Mad in Brazil, she was the first undisputed queen regnant of Por ...
and, since 1820, it has been harvested over 20 times. 1991 was a particularly prolific year, as it yielded over of cork, producing more than 100.000
cork stopper
A stopper or cork is a cylindrical or conical closure used to seal a container, such as a bottle, tube or barrel. Unlike a lid or bottle cap, which encloses a container from the outside without displacing the inner volume, a bung is partially o ...
s, more than what an average cork tree would produce in its lifetime.
The name 'Whistler Tree' comes from the whistling sound of the birds that land on its branches.
The tree was almost taken down with other 411 cork oaks in 2000, as an illegal urban expansion took place. By 2001 the law was reformed to better protect the oaks.
See also
*
List of individual trees
The following is a list of notable trees. Trees listed here are regarded as important or specific by their historical, national, locational, natural or mythological context. The list includes actual trees located throughout the world, as well as ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, Whistler cork oak
Individual oak trees
Individual trees in Portugal