Oak leaf in nature, design, heraldry and literature

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

The leaves of trees, if they are not evergreen tropical plants, tend to bloom from buds annually, and with the onset of autumn turn yellow, wither, die off, and fall off. Oak is no exception. Its beautiful shiny oblong-ovate leaves with sinusoidal carved edges serve as a tool for the tree to synthesize solar energy, which it needs for growth and life. It's no secret that a plant devoid of ultraviolet rays dies.

In autumn, the tree itself seems to "hibernate" - all life processes in it slow down. The leaves that "worked" for the oak in spring and summer are no longer needed.

Yes, and to maintain their vital activity, water and microelements are required. Moisture evaporates from the surface of the sheet. And in winter, it is already difficult for an oak tree to extract water from the ground. The tree therefore "falls asleep" to save moisture.

In addition, the approaching cold can freeze the liquid in the cells of the leaves. Nature has provided for everything. That is why trees shed their leaves before the onset of winter.

“Lukomorye has a green oak tree”… These words are associated with many childhood, fabulouslya magical journey into the world of Pushkin's poetry. And what other associations can arise in connection with this tree?

The beauty of the shape that an oak leaf has has always attracted people - there is something inexpressibly beautiful, wonderful, bewitching in it. That is why designers often use this image in their creations. For example, in stores, labels and price tags often resemble a carved oak leaf in shape. Perfume bottles in the form of an acorn with leather leaves are offered by perfume departments. This type of jewelry is in demand.

In interior design, an oak leaf is also often used as the main element. It can be seen on wallpaper, ornaments, cutting boards, as a pattern for curtains and on furniture upholstery, on cast iron decorations. This is probably due to the fact that this tree itself is a symbol of strength, durability, stability, power.

Creating their magnificent models, couturiers also turn their attention to the oak leaf. A pattern imitating it is used to connect combined clothing. For example, the upper part of the coat is made of sand-colored drape, and the lower part is made of dark brown.

The junction of two colors is not made in a straight line, but as if dark brown oak leaves are superimposed on a beige background. It turns out a beautiful, non-trivial thing, especially if the model has other "symbolic" details: wooden buttons, pocket trim, acorn brooch.

Very beautiful applications on fabric in the form of oak leaves, decorating clothes and tablecloths, bedspreads on furniture and beds,towels and kitchen aprons.

These were all practical life associations. And what about the other sphere of our existence? For example, what does the oak branch symbolize?

Even in the Holy Scriptures, this tree was mentioned as a symbol of God's justice, and the oak leaf was a sign of the fullness of Christian life. In the USA, such leaflets are used as elements of awards, and are also symbols in military insignia.

In Germany, oak is recognized as the national tree. The hardness of wood and the characteristic shape of the leaf symbolize immortality, resilience, inviolability, unity. It is not for nothing that oak twigs, acorns and the leaves themselves are used in state symbols, and in coins, and in monuments, and in heraldry, and in German orders. The era of romanticism also attributed fidelity to this tree.

And how many literary works bear this symbolic name? Today, everyone knows the book "Oak Leaf" by the author Ladinsky Antonin Petrovich, the hero of which is Valeryan Bochkin, the lyric poem "Leaf" by M. Yu. Lermontov.

Andrzej Szypulski and Zbigniew Safian - Polish writers who created a series of adventure stories under the pseudonym "Zbycha", tell in their works about the exploits of Hans Klos. This brave intelligence officer obtained shocking information about the Nazis during the terrible years of World War II. And it is also very symbolic: "Germanic" symbols and the name of the operation "Oak Leaf".

What else comes to mind the moment you saythe phrase "oak branch"? Of course, the healing properties of this "king of the woody world." One smell in an oak forest can cheer you up, purify your soul, instill in it delight, optimism, and a thirst for life.

Brooms from the branches of this mighty wood healer have been used by Russian people in baths since ancient times, expelling ailments and ailments. Substances and essential oils contained in oak leaves have a beneficial effect on the respiratory system, on the state of the epithelium, and prevent an increase in pressure. A decoction of oak bark stops bleeding gums, diarrhea.

Here's how much you can learn about an ordinary oak leaf, if you are curious and attentive. And if you also connect your imagination, you can come up with many amazing fairy tales, the heroes of which will be the leaves of an amazing tree - oak, tell these magical stories to children and invite them to embody it in their drawings.