The Pierre d’Arc oak is one of the remarkable trees listed by the Haute-Provence Geopark. Don’t hesitate to stop and admire it from the roadside!
Tree-watching is an exercise to be practiced regularly, inviting us to enjoy the natural world around us, to learn lessons of longevity, greatness and often resilience. This tree is a Quercus pubescens Willd, also known as a white oak. A widespread species from western Asia to southern Europe, it thrives throughout southern France on dry, mostly limestone woods and hillsides.
Called rouro in Provençal, the vast expanses it covers are called blaches or blaques, a frequently encountered toponym. The beautiful trees that survived the woodcutter’s axe were often acorn trees: they produced acorns in abundance, feeding livestock (especially pigs) and providing shade for the herds.
A second remarkable oak stands on the road leading to the chapel of Saint-Jean, a few kilometers away.
