The Turkey Oak of Rengerspark

The national register calls this one of the heaviest Turkey oaks in the Netherlands, and then declines to say how thick it is. No girth, no height. Just the claim, and a note that the tree is healthy, fast growing and unusually stable in its structure. The Dutch name for the species is moseik, moss oak, and it comes from the acorns. Every cup is covered in long whiskery scales that make it look mossed over, which is the one thing that separates a Turkey oak from the ordinary oaks of a Dutch park at ten paces. The register lists this tree under that name and nothing else, leaving the species column empty: Moseik Rengerspark. The dates line up with the park around it. The Rengers family gave the ground to the city in 1902, Hendrik Copijn laid it out, and it opened in 1906. The register puts the oak planting between 1900 and 1910, so it has been here for as long as anyone has been allowed to walk through. The park itself has been a national monument since 2001, which is a rare thing for a piece of landscaping and tells you the design was worth protecting. One person with a tape measure could settle the heaviest claim in a minute. Nobody has yet. If you do it, send us the number.