Trees of the ancestors

Förfädersträ
One tree of the ancestor before one of the regular northern Scanderan oak.
Conservation status
Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Fagaceae
Genus:	Quercus
Section:	Lobatae
Species:	Q. Sanguis
Binomial name
Quercus Sanguis Göran auf Borgnafe

Förfädersträ, fanderetrei, blotseika and offerek are all names used for the tree of the ancestors that are used in Scandera for the ancient oaks. These names either means sacrificial oak, ancestral tree or blood tree, these names are names it have been given due to it's religious nature as sacrifices were conducted in front of these trees. Another reason for it's name is the dark red sap that is similar to blood. The tree grows in all Scanderan realms with the exception of Jarnarna and it grows all the way down to the southernmost point of Imeriata proper and Eteisrannikko and stops growing first in the northernmost parts of the northern iceplains.

Description

The tree is known for it's powerful crimson red leafs and it's red bloodlike sap. In most scanderan forests so do the trees of the ancestors grow straight but often far from other trees of it's own kind but often close to other oak trees. The tree grows straight up into the air and reaches heights of about 35 to 50 meters. Open-grown trees do not get as tall as ones growing in forests, but can develop a stouter trunk, up to 2 m in diameter. It has stout branches growing at right angles to the stem, forming a narrow round-topped head. It grows rapidly and is tolerant of many soils and varied situations, although it prefers the glacial drift and well-drained borders of streams. It is frequently a part of the canopy in an oak-heath forest, but generally not as important as some other oaks. Under optimal conditions, northern red oak is fast growing and a 10-year-old tree can be 7–10 m tall. Trees can live up to 500 years

• Bark: The bark of the trees of the ancestors are grey and almost stonelike in colour. In younger trees and thicker one especially so does this go further and the trees gain a very smooth but still stonelike texture. Thinner and older trees however are covered by rounded ridges.
• Wood: The wood from the trees of the ancestors is normally light grey like a lighter variant of stone but with dark red ripples running through the wood. The wood itself tends to be stronger than regular oak and is highly sought after for ornaments however due to the rairty of the tree and the problem to grow plantations of these trees means that it remains limited to the richer people in the absolute royal federation.
• Winter buds: Crimson, ovate, acute, generally 6 mm long
• Leaves: Alternate, seven to nine-lobed, oblong-ovate to oblong, around 30 cm long, 10 - 15 cm thick; seven to eleven lobes tapering gradually from broad bases, acute, and usually repandly dentate and terminating with long bristle-pointed teeth; the second pair of lobes from apex are largest; midrib and primary veins conspicuous. Leaves emerge from the bud convolute, pink, covered with soft silky down above, coated with thick white tomentum below. When they are fully grown so are they a deep crimson through and through. However when autumn come so do they lose colour and wither to brown before they fall of their tree.

Uses

Historically so have the tree of the ancestors been used in chronological ceremonies but is not as revered as the Scanderan rose. It has also been used commonly for high end ornaments on ships, temples and palaces while many great legendary weapons being at least partially made out of this kind of wood. It is also a material that works well with magic so a lot of amulets and rune carvings used in Scanderan runic magic are made on this material.

Religious symbolism

Besides a lot of ritualistic items are made out of this tree so is it said that ancestors spirits often inhabits these tree and that the borders between the divine homes of the gods are the thinnest in these trees so it is common that blood sacrifices and rituals are carried out around these trees with blood from animals are mixed with the sap from the trees.