Where Do Cork Oak Trees Grow?

The bark of cork oak trees is used to make cork stoppers for wine bottles.

The cork oak tree (Quercus suber) has outer bark that can be harvested from the tree without harming the tree. New bark then grows on the tree. Most cork oak trees grow in Portugal, Spain, southern France, Italy and North Africa.

Use

The bark from cork oak trees is used to make cork stoppers for wine bottles. Although cork trees do grow in some other locations, only cork from the Mediterranean region is of high enough quality to produce natural wine corks, according to the Jelinek Cork Group.

California Cork Oak

Cork oak trees were imported to California and planted. Although the trees still grow in California, the bark on them turned hard and woody and cannot be used to produce cork stoppers.

Considerations

According to the World Wildlife Foundation, cork stoppers are an important source of income for thousands of people in the Mediterranean region, and the trees support one of the world's highest levels of forest biodiversity. Alternative wine bottle stoppers threaten the market for natural cork stoppers, and the WWF has started a program to conserve cork oak landscapes.

References

• World Wildlife Foundation: Cork oak landscapes
• Jelinek Cork Group: About Cork