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Editor's Picks

Past IOS President Allen Coombes, Curator of Scientific Collections at Puebla University Botanic Garden, discusses leaf variability in Quercus ceirpes (still image from the documentary)
A new documentary by Maricela Rodríguez Acosta
Website Editor | Feb 17, 2026
Quercus miyagii acorn and dried leaves
A rare oak endemic to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan
Elion Jam | Feb 16, 2026
A moss-covered oak (Quercus orocantabrica) in Mata de Albergaria, Peneda-Gerês National Park, Portugal  © Amit Zoran
Steve Potter reviews a new book that features oaks
Steve Potter | Feb 11, 2026

Plant Focus

Quercus canariensis in Cornwall Park, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand, the champion specimen in New Zealand, planted in the 1920s, 27.2 m tall with a trunk diameter of 209 cm (G. Collett pers. comm. 2026)  © Gerald Collett
Antonio Lambe shares his views on this threatened oak native to Iberia and North Africa

Michael Heathcoat Amory (1941 - 2016)

Michael Heathcoat Amory at Chevithore Barton, trimming a Quercus phellos following snow damage. Photo: © James MacEwen

It is with great sadness that I share with IOS members the news that Michael Heathcoat Amory died on the 24th of February.

His passion for oaks was made manifest in his arboretum at Chevithorne Barton, which will be enjoyed by many future generations. He contributed generously to acorn-collecting expeditions that enhanced other arboreta as well as his own.

He was proud of his involvement and support for the IOS and their support for his collection, often welcoming IOS members at Chevithorne and hosting an Oak Open Day in 2011.

A remarkable man whose legacy is one of the great oak collections in the world.

A memorial service will be held at St Luke's Church, Sydney Street, London SW3 6NH, on June 29, 2016, at noon.




Fuller tributes to Michael and his oaks will appear in the IOS Journal, International Oaks.

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