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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] acorns

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  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] acorns
  • Date: Tue, 05 Nov 2002 10:36:36 -0600

Deer and turkeys both - and squirrels, to some extent - will eat the lower-tannin white oak group acorns before they turn to the more bitter red oak group acorns.
Depending on what species were present in their area, the native Americans, just like the wildlife, utilized whatever food sources were available. The white oak acorns don't 'store' nearly so well as those of the red/black oak group, as they're 'programmed' to go ahead and sprout soon after dropping(I've even seen some sprout on the tree), so that they can get a taproot seated into the soil in preparation for shoot growth the following spring.
As a class, the red/black oak acorns have higher fat/oil content than most of the white oak group - and more flavor, from what I understand, though they do require more leaching. Q.kelloggii (CA Black oak) was used extensively by many of the Western Indian tribes, who prized it for its flavor as well as its storing capabilities - they constructed granaries in which they could hold acorns for years, with minimal spoilage and rodent depredation.




Lucky Pittman
USDA Zone 6
Hopkinsville, KY





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