GeoGraph - photograph every grid square

Young English oak leaves in Sherwood Forest Country Park

Note the male flower tassel hanging beneath the leaves. The oaks in Sherwood are both the Pedunculate or English Oak (Quercus robur) and the Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea). One of the features which differentiates the two species is the leaf stalk or petiole. On the Pedunculate oak this is very short, typically less than 0.5 cm. long, whereas on the Sessile oak the petiole is 1-2 cm. in length.
As Sessile and Pedunculate oak hybridise naturally with each other, producing trees of intermediate characteristics, this can make it difficult to accurately identify the tree to the species level. This is a common factor in Sherwood and many intermediate trees can be found.