A Forager’s Guide to Acorn and Oak Tree Types

By The Mother Earth News Editors
Published on September 1, 1984
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Illustration by Fotolia/oleg7799
Even if your knowledge of oak tree types is a little sketchy, when the nuts mature and fall a wide bounty will be there for the gathering.

Maybe you think, “If you’ve seen one acorn you’ seen them all.” Well, as the following forager’s guide should make clear, there are over twodozen oak tree types. Which means there are just as many types of acorns (and one type from a tree that in spite of its name technically isn’t an oak). For culinary purposes, the nuts can be divided into two categories: sweet acorns and bitter acorns.

Sweet Acorns

Ballota Oak (Quercus ilex var. rotundifolia): A medium-size evergreen oak from southwestern Europe and northern Africa with large, edible acorns that take two years to mature.

Bur Oak (Q. macrocarpa): A medium-size, drought-resistant deciduous tree found in the mideastern U.S., Canada, and south to Texas. This slow-grower prefers limestone soils and is used commercially for its wood. The 2″ acorns mature in one season, and an acorn-producing cultivar, Q.m. Ashworth, is available commercially.

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