Quercus serrata 'Herkenrode'

In 1992, Philippe de Spoelberch collected acorns from Quercus serrata along the Okawa River in the Tono-Hetsuri valley (Central Honshu, Japan). Meanwhile, these acorns have turned into beautiful trees, of which this particular one is the most remarkable because of its annually returning orange-red and sometimes even purple-red wine autumn colors. In 2008, it was propagated by Dirk Benoit from the Pavia nursery and received the name ‘Herkenrode’. Eike Jablonski, an oak specialist, registered the name. The grey bark is beautifully and vertically furrowed. The oblong oval leaf has a glandular dentate leaf margin.  In summer, the leaves are shiny green on the upper surface and greyish-green on the puberulous lower surface. In Japan, the dead stems of Quercus serrata are used to cultivate shiitake mushrooms. The leaves are eaten by the silkworm.