Pine Vs Oak at Home: Which Wood Is Better? | Grain & Frame

Comprising over 600 species, Oak trees are one of the oldest and most widely spread trees in the world. In Britain, there are five species of oak, two of which are native; Common oak, also known as English oak, and Sessile oak, with three other species, Holm oak, Red oak and Turkey oak, which are imported.

The oak tree has a significant association with the English countryside and is easily recognisable thanks to its distinctive shape and size. Oak trees can grow up to 148 feet tall and live up to 1,000 years, although the usual lifespan of an oak tree is about 200 years.

Young oaks have smooth, silvery brown bark but, as they age, the trunk grows rugged and is covered in finger-shaped platelets with deep grooves in between. The trunk can grow to a massive size; a girth circumference of up to 10 meters has been known in older trees.