]]

The acorn is the fruit of the oak tree^[1]. It is a nut, and contains a single seed (rarely two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell. Acorns vary from 1 – 6 cm long and 0.8 – 4 cm broad. Acorns take between about 6 or 24 months (that depends on the species) to mature.

Nutrition

Acorns are one of the most important wildlife foods in areas where oaks grow. Creatures that make acorns an important part of their diet include birds, such as jays, pigeons, some ducks and several species of woodpeckers. Small mammals that feed on acorns include mice, squirrels and several other rodents. Such large mammals as pigs, bears, and deer also consume large amounts of acorns: they may constitute up to 25% of the diet of deer in the autumn. In some of the large oak forests in southwest Europe, traditionally called "dehesas", pigs are still turned loose in oak groves in the autumn, to fill and fatten themselves on acorns. However, acorns are toxic to some other animals, such as horses.

References

1. ↑ (genera Quercus, Lithocarpus and Cyclobalanopsis, in the family Fagaceae)

• Baumhoff, Martin A. (1963) Ecological Determinants of Aboriginal California Populations. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Etnology 49(2)155-235.
• Brown, Leland R. (1979) Insects Feeding on California Oak Treesin Proceedings of the Symposium on Multiple-Use Management of California's Hardwood Resources, Timothy Plum and Norman Pillsbury (eds.). Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-44, USDA, Forest Service, Pac. S.W. Forest and Range Experiment Station, Berkeley, California, pp. 184–194.
• Janzen, Daniel H. (1971) Seed Predation by Animals in Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. Richard F. Johnson, Peter W. Frank and Charles Michner (eds.).

Other websites

• Nutrition Facts for Acorn Flour
• Nupa Acorn Soup (Miwokan recipe)
• Cooking With Acorns: A Major North American Indian Food
• How to whistle an acorn

This article includes text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. Please add to the article as needed.