- published: 18 May 2016
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An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus ( /ˈkwɜrkəs/;Latin "oak tree"), of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus. The genus is native to the northern hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in Asia and the Americas.
Oaks have spirally arranged leaves, with a lobed margin in many species; some have serrated leaves or entire leaves with a smooth margin. Many deciduous species are marcescent, not dropping dead leaves until spring. The flowers are catkins, produced in spring. The fruit is a nut called an acorn, borne in a cup-like structure known as a cupule; each acorn contains one seed (rarely two or three) and takes 6–18 months to mature, depending on species. The live oaks are distinguished for being evergreen, but are not actually a distinct group and instead are dispersed across the genus.
Oak trees are a flowering plant. The genus is divided into two subgenera and a number of sections:
When I think of it now that it's done
How it might've gone without a place to belong
I can see we played into their hands
And they picked our bones until we proved them wrong
It's only a moment
The minutes and hours, they fly from me now as then
It's all in the detail
I've been here before but still don't remember when
As we stared in the face of the storm
And the change began to gather over the bend
There was always a chance it would come
But if you can't make it happen nobody can
It's all but forgotten
The minutes and hours, they're nothing that can't be
bought
It's all in the detail