| Sessile oak - Quercus petraea
 Sessile oak - Quercus petraea© Dr Chris Gibson/English NatureThe sessile oak is a native oak, and, like the pedunculate oak, supports vast numbers of insects and invertebrates as well as many other animals. It is more suited to the lighter soils of the north and west. Left to grow naturally this oak becomes a high domed tree with a closed crown and tall trunk with grey bark. Like the pedunculate oak, Quercus robur, this tree can be coppiced or pollarded, and it is often seen in hedgerows as a large multi-stemmed tree. The deciduous leathery leaves have five- to seven- rounded lobes on either side. Acorns form in clusters without stalks. The two native oak species both support a truly huge range of wildlife and only an outline indication of the number and variety of species can be given here. A mature oak tree is virtually an entire ecosystem on its own! Among the associated birds are all three species of woodpecker, jay, nuthatch and treecreeper. Mistle thrushes, wood pigeons and tawny owls commonly use oaks for nesting. Many small mammals feed on acorns and bats may hibernate in the natural holes in more mature trees. AnimalsAngle shades moth, Blue tit, Buff-tip moth, Daubenton's bat, Dormouse, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Green woodpecker, Grey squirrel, Hawthorn shieldbug, Hedgehog, Jackdaw, Jay, Lackey moth, Lesser spotted woodpecker, Light emerald moth, Mistle thrush, Natterer's bat, Nuthatch, Oak bush-cricket, Peppered moth, Pied flycatcher, Pipistrelle bat, Redstart, Rook, Tawny owl, Tree sparrow, Treecreeper, Wood mouse, Yellow-necked mouse, Yellow-tail moth | Foliage | Green | | Flower | Green, May to June | | Moisture |  (Average) | | Sunlight |   (Full sun to Part-shade) | | Origin | Native |
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