The Ramos Oak

The shape of its canopy, with branching very close to the two main boughs, and the twisted, restricted growth of its branches, indicate that this is a very old tree. It is a unique survivor of the oak groves that used to characterise these landscapes in earlier centuries. As the municipality of Taboada continued to grow and expand, those oak trees were gradually cut down. Surely this particular tree was given some extra respect because of the genetic miracle that allowed its unique form of growth, with its two main boughs growing upwards in parallel. It is probably this rare feature that saved it from the axe and allowed it to live for more than 500 years, either as a curiosity, or because it was considered to be an exceptional tree because of its form. Perhaps its wood was also thought to be less suitable for use as timber.

It also seems likely that this tree was the origin of the local parish name of San Tomé de Carballo, as carballo means oak tree in the Galician language. In fact, for a short time during the 19th century, the municipality itself was also named Carballo, before being changed to San Tomé. In 1950, the name of the municipality changed again, to its current name of Taboada.

Data for the tree (2020):

    Height (m): 19.4

    Girth at breast height (m): 6.6

    Canopy diameter (m): 17.6

    Estimated age: 500 years

    The tree is privately owned, although it is located on land that can be visited by the public.