29th May - Oak apple day

The 29th of May is known by many names including most commonly: Oak apple day & Royal Oak day. Less well known are Shick-shack day and Arbour day.

So what's it about? Formerly a bank holiday in England to commemorate the restoration of the English monarchy, its origins lie in Charles II's escape from the parliamentarians by hiding in the Boscobel oak.

Oak apples

Taking an evening walk down Church Lane I was able to find several examples of oak apples without much effort.

Are they apples? The answer is no - they are in fact a type of gall. The female oak gall wasp lays her egg in the leaf buds of an oak. As the wasp egg develops into a larvae it releases chemicals that interact with the oak causing a gall to develop. The gall now provides both protection and food for the developing wasp.

Oak apples

In folklore, oak apples were used in divination. To discover if a child was bewitched three oak apples would be placed in a basin of water under the child's cradle. If they floated all was well, if they sank the child was believed to be bewitched.

Oak apple with exit hole visible