Heimans Oak Quercus robur
The oldest tree in Amsterdam.
The Heimans Oak is a pedunculate oak. This tree species is found throughout most of Europe.
The Heimans Oak in a nutshell
- inhabits
- Europe
- flowers in
- April and May, once every five years
- excels at
- surviving
Pedunculate oak
A pedunculate oak can reach an age of up to 700 years. The Heimans Oak at ARTIS is estimated to be around 275 years old (therefore dating back to about 1740) and the girth of its trunk is 3.5 metres. This tree existed long before ARTIS was founded, and is a natural heritage icon.
Eli Heimans
The Heimans Oak is named after Eli Heimans, a naturalist who contributed significantly to popularising nature studies. In 1903, he described the oak in the Groene Amsterdammer as follows: ‘There [...] rises again such a twisted, branching oak, a solid thirty metres; together with the great brown beeches, the pride of ARTIS’.
Fungal disease
Unfortunately, the Heimans Oak is suffering from a fungal disease that occurs naturally in older trees. This means that the tree will have to be felled if it becomes too dangerous. Experts check the trunk of the oak each year to monitor its health.