69. Holm Oak

Oaks are not among the fastest-growing of trees, but they are among the longest-living. At Wardija there is a majestic Holm Oak (M: balluta) that was already fruiting when Roger the Norman set foot on the Islands in the 11th Century! That same oak is still producing fruit today, fruit that we have grown into thousands of young trees for reafforestation. The holm oak is evergreen but it sheds much old foliage, plus a crop of ripe acorns every year. This creates a rich humus underneath it, precious nutrient for our impoverished soil. Walk in a grove of oaks at this time of the year and you can almost feel the new soil being formed! Sadly very few stands of oak survive today from the forests that were once widespread in Malta, but through reafforestation projects like Foresta 2000, BirdLife and its partners hope to revive oak woodlands.

Text and photo by Victor Falzon.

Copyright to Birdlife Malta.