Sweet acorn holm oaks
Recovering sweet acorn holm oaks varieties from Mallorca
The oak is one of the most emblematic trees of the Mediterranean. The vast majority of wild oak trees in Mallorca produce acorns with a high content of tannins that give them a bitter and astringent taste. But we also find oak trees with "sweet" acorns, which have been used both for animal consumption and also for human consumption (raw, roasted or flour).
In Mallorca, these oak trees have traditionally been propagated through grafting, a specific technique that has been handed down from generation to generation, and which on our island is the only place where this culture is preserved.
From 2019, thanks to the collaboration of Balanotrees and through an Applied Research Grant funded by FOGAIBA, we were able to identify and characterize some of the sweet oaks of Mallorca. Here you can consult the results of this latest project. You can also consult the different varieties or varietal types of oak that we were able to characterize and incorporate into the Catalog of local varieties of agricultural interest in the Balearic Islands.
Sweet acorn holm oaks nursery
The preservation of the varieties of sweet acorn oaks is another milestone in the recovery of Mallorca's cultivated biodiversity and the cultural and gastronomic heritage of our island. For this reason, in 2022 we launched a project to propagate local varieties of sweet oaks using the micrografting technique.
The forest nursery CEFOR Menut, brings the oaks of a year, and Star of Levant He gives us the space to graft and an area inside the greenhouse at his Bio Nursery.
Every year we complete the collections of Can Pistola (Felanitx), the UIB and the public estates of Galatzó and Mortitx, respectively.
In November we started the campaign of grafting bitter oak roots with sweet oak seedlings, thanks to volunteer grafters and those attending the training courses. The seedlings remain for 3 weeks in a hot tube shelf and if they have started favorably, they are transplanted first into trays and then into individual forest pots. Before the summer the saplings are brought to grow and acclimatize in the CEFOR-Menut facilities and at the end of the year they can be planted in the field.
All this is possible thanks to the selfless collaboration of volunteers who help us, both in the transfer and collection of seedlings, as well as in carrying out the grafting and subsequent maintenance.
This project has the support of Mallorca Preservation Foundation, the Estel de Llevant Foundation, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment and the University of the Balearic Islands.
Donate to the sweet oak nursery project
The preservation of the sweet garlic oak varieties is another milestone in the recovery of Mallorca's cultivated biodiversity and the cultural and gastronomic heritage of our island.
Do you want to graft oak trees?
- Write to us at info@varietatslocals.org if you want to be part of the group of grafters who occasionally help us graft and do other tasks of the sweet oak multiplication project.
- Get trained in the different courses we organize. More information in the section of formation.
Do you want to acquire a sweet oak tree?
The holm oaks are distributed primarily among the partner people interested. Depending on the availability of copies and demand, we will make them available to the general public who wish to purchase them. We will announce this in our newsletter and through our networks.
Although the plants are subject to the relevant health controls, given the prohibition on moving live plant material outside the Balearic Islands, it is not possible to respond to requests from outside our Autonomous Community.
Contact us for more information
You can contact us by emailing info@varietatslocals.org or by calling 722 782 536