The holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia Lam.) occurs in northern Africa and in the south of Portugal, Spain and France. The fruits, acorns, are sweet, edible and bakeable. In the Iberian Peninsula, they were an essential component of the Iron Age people's diet, as the Greek geographer and historian Strabo (ca. 63 BC-24 AD) tells us in his work Geography (3, 3, 7): «For two-thirds of the year the mountaineers feed on the acorn, which they dry, bruise, and afterwards grind and make into a kind of bread, which may be stored up for a long period.» (H.C. Hamilton & W. Falconer, Eds.). Acorns were also a source of food for the animals they raised, such as pigs. This information has been confirmed by archaeological studies that attest to the presence of acorns in strata from this time period.

A tree with evergreen leaves and holm oaks can live for many years and reach large sizes. In the region of Mértola (Portugal), there is a holm oak around a century and a half old, with a crown measuring more than 23 meters in diameter.

The tree is beautiful, especially in older specimens. The dark trunk and branches contrast with the leaves of different green shades, depending on the time of year. While taking a walk, many years ago (2008), in the Algarve Sierra, where we can see many holm oaks (and cork oaks), I noticed some magnificent specimens. The sun was shining in the sky. The light entered the treetops, and the play of shadows and lights, the branches' shapes, and the shades of green marvelled me. I felt small under the canopy of those trees! The image was captured with a small digital camera (it was in 2008!) and does not have the quality that we are used to appreciating today, but it conveys the essence of the message.