Oak Apple Day Tower Captain throws the old branch down from the top of the tower and a new one is hauled to the top. Everyone is then invited to the vicarage gardens for refreshments and a barbecue. Up to 12 noon villagers wear a sprig of "red" (new) oak and in the afternoon wear a sprig of "Boys Love" ("Artemisia abrotanum"); tradition dictates that the punishment for not doing this results in being stung by nettles. Oak Apple Day Restoration Day, more commonly known as Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day, was an English public holiday, observed annually on 29 May,
Oak "Lymantria dispar", which can defoliate oak and other broadleaved tree species in North America. A considerable number of galls are found on oak leaves, buds, flowers, roots, etc. Examples are oak artichoke gall, oak marble gall, oak apple gall, knopper gall, and spangle gall. A number of species of fungus cause powdery mildew on oak species. In Europe the species "Erysiphe alphitoides" is the most common cause. A new and yet little understood disease of mature oaks, acute oak decline, has been reported in parts of the UK since 2009. Oak processionary moth ("Thaumetopoea processionea") has become a serious threat