The Trees at the Promenade Museum
The White Oak Tree
So called because its young twigs and leaves are covered with a whitish down. Also called Pubescent oak or Downy oak.
It is a very characteristic tree of our supra-Mediterranean regions. It covers huge areas of woodland in Haute Provence. These woodlands of white oak are called "blaches", a term that is very common in toponymy and even in anthroponymy.
The pubescent oak is a deciduous but marcescent tree (the leaves remain on the tree until the buds of the following year break).
In favourable conditions, it can produce beautiful trees and several have been classified as Remarkable Trees in the Geopark - two specimens in Saint-Jeannet, several specimens near the Pierre-Ecrite (Inscribed Stone) in Saint-Geniez and the Oak Tour, a walk towards Sigoyer.
Quercus pubescens Willd.
Downy oak
In French it is also called "chêne blanc", in Occitan dialect it is called "roure" and when it bears acorns (which can be used to feed pigs, it is called "glandée") it is an "aglanier".
Honnorat S.-J., Vocabulaire français - provençal, 1848, Reprinted 1996.
