Tree - this is one of those building materials that are known to mankind since ancient times.Volumes of consumption are growing every year, so many species to the brink of extinction.
The latter applies to cork tree, which is used by man for thousands of years.
it belongs to the genus oaks.Unlike relatives that about five years of its branches and trunk are covered by a thick crust with unique properties.But it can only shoot 20 years.Note that you can do this up to the age (wood, of course) of 200 years!
After the first harvest takes at least 8-9 years, during which there is a restoration of the cortex.The tree at the age of 170-200 years, provides approximately 200 kg of high-quality raw materials.
feature of this oak in the fact that he belongs to the evergreen species.The leaves resemble those of the Russian oak, but bottom layer coating significantly down.Needless cork rather large height can reach 20 meters and diameter of the trunk - meters.
Latin name - Quercus suber.It grows at an altitude no higher than 500 meters above sea level.Most oak trees of this species is found in Portugal, making the country's budget received a considerable cash infusion derived from the export of cork, annually increases its value.
man since ancient times knew that gives the cork is the most valuable commodity, but because it has long cultivated culturally.Note that there is a false representative of this kind, Q. crenata, which is fairly widespread in southern Europe.Cork it is so small that the tree was bred solely for decorative purposes.
only in Portugal plantations oak Quercus suber employs more than 2 million hectares!Furthermore, approximately the same number of areas used for this purpose in all of South Europe.
Year all plantations produce more than 350 tons of bark, but this number is no longer enough to meet demand.That is why a wild cork was almost completely destroyed.
By the way, what is the uniqueness of cork as a material?The fact that it is a natural polymer whose structure resembles a honeycomb in a beehive.
Each cubic centimeter of the material may contain up to 40 million of cells, which are differentiated among themselves by means of partitions from the cellulosic component.
Simply put, each capsule is filled with air, so that even a small piece of cork is very elastic.This property gives the material a complete water resistance and the ability to restore the original state even after strong pressure.
is why cork (which has a photo in the article) received such wide appreciation from furniture manufacturers.
Furthermore, in the bark included Suberin (a mixture of fatty acids, waxes and alcohols).It is unique in that it gives the wood fire-resistant and antifouling qualities.There are cases when forest fires cork oaks remained completely intact, except scorched bark and leaves dried up from the heat.
Thus, the cork - this is a unique material, given to man by nature.
