Oak apple due to the superficial resemblance and the preponderance of the oak marble gall in the wild. Other galls found on oak trees include the oak artichoke gall and the acorn cup gall, but each of these has its own distinctive form. Some common oak-apple-forming species are the "Biorhiza pallida" gall wasp in Europe, "Amphibolips confluenta" in eastern North America, and "Atrusca bella" in western North America. Oak apples may be brownish, yellowish, greenish, pinkish, or reddish. Oak galls have been used in the production of ink since at least the time of the Roman Empire. From the Middle Ages to
HMS Royal Oak (1664) Dutch during their Raid on the Medway in 1667. HMS Royal Oak (1664) HMS "Royal Oak" was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1664 at Portsmouth Dockyard. "Royal Oak" was built by John Tippets, Master-Shipwright at Portsmouth 1660-8, who later became Navy Commissioner and subsequently Surveyor of the Navy (Knighted 1672). Historian Brian Lavery quotes an entry in the "Calendar of State Papers, Domestic" series (the records of the English, and later, the British, governmental proceedings, dating back to the reign of Henry VIII; also known as the "British State Papers", and