Editing Cork (material) (section)

==Harvesting==
[[File:IAPH Saca del corcho.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Cork extraction near [[Aracena]], Spain]]
Cork is extracted only from early May to late August, when the cork can be separated from the tree without causing permanent damage. When the tree reaches 25–30 years of age and about 24 in (60&nbsp;cm) in circumference, the cork can be removed for the first time. However, this first harvest almost always produces poor quality or ''virgin'' cork (Portuguese {{lang|pt|cortiça virgem}}; Spanish {{lang|es|corcho bornizo}} or {{lang|es|corcho virgen}}<ref name="DRAE">{{cite web
 | title         = DRAE
 | url           = http://lema.rae.es/drae/
 | url-status    = dead
 | website       = Lema.rae.es
 | access-date   = 2014-07-03
 | archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20151104145435/http://lema.rae.es/drae/
 | archive-date  = 2015-11-04
}}</ref>).

The workers who specialize in removing the cork are known as ''extractors''. An extractor uses a very sharp axe to make two types of cuts on the tree: one horizontal cut around the plant, called a ''crown'' or ''necklace'', at a height of about two to three times the circumference of the tree, and several vertical cuts called ''rulers'' or ''openings''. This is the most delicate phase of the work because, even though cutting the cork requires significant force, the extractor must not damage the underlying [[phellogen]] or the tree will be harmed.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

To free the cork from the tree, the extractor pushes the handle of the axe into the rulers. A good extractor needs to use a firm but precise touch in order to free a large amount of cork without damaging the product or tree.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

[[File:Quercus suber corc.JPG|thumb|A stack of harvested cork, [[Algarve]], [[Portugal]]]]

These freed portions of the cork are called ''planks''. The planks are usually carried off by hand since cork forests are rarely accessible to vehicles. The cork is stacked in piles in the forest or in yards at a factory and traditionally left to dry, after which it can be loaded onto a truck and shipped to a processor.

Bark from initial harvests can be used to make flooring, shoes, insulation and other industrial products. Subsequent extractions usually occur at intervals of nine years, though it can take up to thirteen for the cork to reach an acceptable size. If the product is of high quality it is known as ''gentle'' cork (Portuguese {{lang|pt|cortiça amadia}},<ref>{{lang|pt|Amadio}} comes from and is a synonym of {{lang|pt|amavio}}, "beberage or spell to seduce" (Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa), from {{lang|pt|amar}}, "to love".</ref> but also {{lang|pt|cortiça secundeira}} only if it is the second time; Spanish {{lang|es|corcho segundero}}, also restricted to the second time<ref name="DRAE"/>), and, ideally, is used to make stoppers for wine and champagne bottles.<ref>{{cite web
 |title        = Harvesting Cork Is as Natural as Shearing Sheep
 |url          = http://about.newsusa.com/article/harvesting-cork-is-as-natural-as-shearing-sheep.aspx
 |date         = 2014-06-12
 |website      = Newsusa.com
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140613004417/http://about.newsusa.com/article/harvesting-cork-is-as-natural-as-shearing-sheep.aspx
 |archive-date = 13 June 2014
 |publisher    = 100percentcork.org
 |url-status   = dead
 |access-date  = 16 July 2014
}}</ref>