From the Latin quercus, this genus includes more than 300 species. For example, the well-known family of Fagaceae, or Cupuliferae, because of its dome-shaped fruit.
Oaks are monk plants, with male and female flowers on the same individual. The leaves, however, can be deciduous, semi-persistent or persistent.
Puglia is known as “the land of the 10 oaks” because it is the only region where all 10 species of Italian oak are present.
Among the oaks, two groups must be made: the white oaks and the Mediterranean oaks. The former are widespread in much of Europe, the latter, instead, in the warm areas of the Mediterranean. In Salento, the Holm oak (quercia ilex) is particularly widespread, called Lizza by the Salentines. In Alezio, the Madonna della Lizza is also honored, while the toponym of Lecce itself derives from holm oak. Another presence of oak to remember in Salento is the Vallonea oak. A particularly majestic and ancient specimen is found in Tricase and is called the “oak of 100 knights”.
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