Signal Station Oak
Quercus ilex
Holm Oak Upper Rock Nature Reserve
A holm oak clinging to the upper slopes of the Rock, its small hard leaves built to survive drought and salt.
Story & Significance
The holm oak once formed forests across southern Iberia. On the Upper Rock, survivors like this shelter Barbary partridge and the Rock's only wild monkeys, the Barbary macaques. Acorns from these trees feed the reserve through winter, and their deep roots hold the thin mountain soil in place against the rains.
Living Trails · Whole Wild World