Cork begins on a tree
A cork oak’s bark is one of the first clues.
Explore this story
Your choice is saved only in this browser.
Quercus suber has thick, elastic, deeply cracked bark: cork. The municipal description includes cork oaks on the hillsides of Cabeceiras. Leaves remain for more than one season; the University of Évora mentions up to three years. Evergreen foliage does not mean that every leaf lasts forever.
The fruits are acorns. The profile describes their cups as having long, velvety scales. Bark, leaves and fruits offer different clues for observing the tree, without removing cork or breaking off branches. The local reference documents the landscape; the botanical description explains general features of the species.
Inside, cork consists of microscopic cells containing gas similar to air. APCOR relates this structure to its lightness, compressibility and ability to regain its shape. Suberin in the cell walls helps impede the passage of liquids and gases. A stopper looks simple, but the material’s behaviour begins at a scale our eyes cannot see.
The association also describes turning used stoppers into granules for new products, such as floor coverings and soles. This is a general example of reuse, not an industrial activity confirmed in Cabeceiras. Compare it with the wooden clogs of Outeiro and the containers of Faia: other stories of tree-derived materials, with different uses and working methods.
A tree, different materials
Open an option and choose the story.
Wood for foot support
Before the punch, a piece of alder →Parts forming a container
The wood also stores the wine →Return to tree and environment
The cork oak does not climb the whole mountains →
Source and context
University of Évora — Quercus suber, botanical description
Municipality — landscape and vegetation
APCOR — Cork, cellular structure, properties and reuse (page consulted in the staging subdomain)
Accessed: . Editorial summary; the date of consultation is not the date of the facts.