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The World’s Tallest Cork Oak: a Cautionary Tale

Sobreiro Monumental

In August of this year, traditionally a quiet month for news, the UK’s Sunday Times ran a story headed “Record-breaking tree grew from the pages of a 100-year-old-book”. It recounted how a M.

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

Champion trees

The World’s Tallest Cork Oak: a Cautionary Tale

Sobreiro Monumental

In August of this year, traditionally a quiet month for news, the UK’s Sunday Times ran a story headed “Record-breaking tree grew from the pages of a 100-year-old-book”. It recounted how a M.

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