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PHASE
1 : Cork harvesting |
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Time is essential to
grow cork. The first removal, called first bark stripping,
takes place after 25-30 years. It produces a single natural cork, the male
cork, which is 5 cm (2 inches) thick, hard and very cracked. This type of
rigid cork contains suberine, a
substance used to produce agglomerated cork for insulation.
Once the male cork has
been taken off the cork oak tree, the first female
bark grows during a period of 10 to 15 years. This single coat, also
called the reproduction cork or 'refuge', is quite cracked and therefore
not of sufficient quality to produce cork stoppers. |
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After 30 to 45 years, at
cycles of 10 to 15 years, the harvesting starts by stripping
the female
cork. The process is repeated for 12 to 15 successive strippings. The
living part containing the generating base is stripped, and the colour
moves from pink to red-brown over the time. This typical aspect of cork
oak indicates that those trees are being exploited. |
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The bark of the cork
tree.
It is certainly one of the most astonishing and productive
trees on earth :
The growth of the stem results from two bases
generating cells : |
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