Quercus x hispanica 'Lucombeana'

At the top of the West Lawn, in front of the pavilions, a dense clump of overgrown hollies and shrubs has recently been cleared, resulting in much improved vistas and the dramatic revealing of a fine oak, Quercus x hispanica 'Lucombeana'.

In 1735 William Lucombe introduced the Turkey Oak (Q. cerris) to his Exeter nursery and when the first seedlings from this grew in the 1760s, he realised that one was a cross with a nearby Cork Oak (Q. suber). This hybrid was developed and widely distributed, with clones varying between the vigour of Q. cerris and the corkiness of Q. suber.

In Sheffield Botanical Gardens the Lucombe Oak displays the characteristic strong upright growth of the Turkey Oak (of which specimens grow west of the fountain, Area P) and the corky bark of the Cork Oak (a young specimen can be seen in the Mediterranean climate garden, Area L) as well as its foliage, which is almost evergreen here.