Cork Oak

Wow, look at these photos from cork production!
Isn't it incredible?!
I found this while looking for a book (Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast) in the UW library.
Upper left: slicing the cork from a cork oak tree (Quercus suber).
Upper right: traditional cork use as a beehive.
Lower left: stacks of harvested cork
Lower right: making cork bottle stoppers from strips of cork.

There are a few things I find so incredible and fascinating about this photo. One, that there exists a tree with such thick, spongy bark; two, that the cork can easily be peeled away in one piece (wow!); three, that there can be so much of it in one place. I found the cork tree and cork making process fascinating; I will never look at a cork bottle stopper the same...