Quejigo del Amo natural monument

Main features

In the municipality of Valdepeñas de Jaén, in the middle of the Sierra Sur region, we find a species of gall-oak, better known as the Quejigo del Amo.

This spectacular specimen of gall oak, also known as Quejigo del Carbón, is one of the largest specimens found in Andalusia. Its twelve meters of perimeter and its almost nine meters high, project a shadow that can shelter up to 200 people.

The Quejigo del Amo is, without a doubt, a hundred-year-old tree located in the crown of the Sierra Sur, but its age remains a mystery: researchers place it between 500 and 1,000 years old.

Initially, this specimen was protected as a singular tree, due to its beauty and grandeur. Later, in October 2001, the Junta de Andalucía decided to declare it a Natural Monument.

The gall family

The Quejigo del Amo belongs to the Quercus faginea family and is representative of the native Mediterranean vegetation, especially from the areas of Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Murcia.

These trees are characterized by having an abrupt shape, which bursts in and draws attention compared to its surroundings.

Quejigo del Amo or Coal?

This specimen of gall oak is known in both forms, although it is better known as Quejigo del Amo.

Those who call it Quejigo del Carbón refer to the practice of using charcoal, typical of Andalusia in its time. This consisted of pruning the branches for their use as charcoal, which reveals their scant development compared to the thickness of the trunk of this specimen.

The name of the Quejigo del Amo is rather a popular legend, since the owner of the farm where the tree was located wanted to make it his own. The locals of the place, from hearing the man so much say that he was the master of that gall-oak, began to call him the Master"s gall-oak.

Surroundings

The environment where this natural monument is located is made up of mountains of mountains higher than 1,700 meters of altitude. In fact, the Quejigo del Amo is located at about 1,800 meters.

This environment that cares for and accompanies the Quejigo del Amo, is made up of cork oaks, pines, cherry trees, holm oaks, olive trees, rose bushes, etc. making this print even more spectacular.

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