A Tree Grows in the Courtyard | The Medieval Garden Enclosed | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York:
"Visitors to
The Cloisters may have spied the top of a large
oak tree just above the wall at the
postern gate entrance. This
white oak grows in a courtyard enclosed by the ramparts, which also include maintenance passages, storage, an education workshop area, and garden workspaces.
Quercus alba, the white oak, is a common and long-lived
North American hardwood. The bark gives the tree its name, though it is usually light gray rather than white. Oak timber is water resistant, strong, elastic, and dense, qualities that have led to a multitude of uses ranging from shipbuilding to supports for
panel paintings (see “The Garden in Heraldry: The
Great Oak of the Forest,” December 8, 2011). In addition to its timber, the oak’s bark is used in cork making, in tanning, and as a dyestuff. It also has several medicinal applications."
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