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Herbal Database Search ResultsBack to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven Quercus fruticosa
Physical CharacteristicsAn evergreen shrub growing to 2m. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in leaf all year. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use. The plant prefers medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure. Habitats and Possible LocationsWoodland, Sunny Edge.Edible UsesCoffee Seed.
Seed - cooked[105, 177]. The seed is about 15mm long[200], it can be
dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed
with cereals for making bread. The seed contains bitter tannins, these can be
leached out by thoroughly washing the seed in running water though many
minerals will also be lost. Either the whole seed can be used or the seed can
be dried and ground it into a powder. It can take several days or even weeks
to properly leach whole seeds, one method was to wrap them in a cloth bag and
place them in a stream. Leaching the powder is quicker. A simple taste test
can tell when the tannin has been leached. The traditional method of
preparing the seed was to bury it in boggy ground overwinter. The germinating
seed was dug up in the spring when it would have lost most of its
astringency.
Medicinal UsesDisclaimerAstringent. Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc[4]. Other UsesRepellent Tannin Wood.
A mulch of the leaves repels slugs, grubs etc, though fresh leaves
should not be used as these can inhibit plant growth[200].
Cultivation detailsPrefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side[1, 11]. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade[200]. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted[200].This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10° c[200]. Prefers warmer summers than are usually experienced in Britain, but plants usually grow well in Britain[200]. Produces suckers[200]. Plants are often very low growing, to about 30cm tall, and spread out to form a carpet[200]. The seed ripens in its first year[200]. Intolerant of root disturbance, trees should be planted in their permanent positions whilst young[11]. Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus[200]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200]. PropagationSeed - it quickly loses viability if it is allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool overwinter but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed, though it must be protected from mice, squirrels etc. Small quantities of seed can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Plants produce a deep taproot and need to be planted out into their permanent positions as soon as possible, in fact seed sown in situ will produce the best trees[11]. Trees should not be left in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons without being moved or they will transplant very badly.Division of suckers in the dormant season. SuppliersFor more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look. Web References
References for the family Fagaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources. Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images. References[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951 [4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 [11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981 [50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964 [105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976 [177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169 [200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Readers Commentsmaking flour from acornsJohn Rutherford (johnr@dynamite.com.au) Mon Jan 24 10:49:48 2000 I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction in regard to processing acorns for food. your list mentions a number of preferred trees (american indians mainly) and i have tried the following: Q. palustris (pin oak), Q. lobata (valley oak), Q. macrocarpa (burr oak) and Q. robur (english oak). Pin Oak (Q. palustris) was a waste of time because of the difficulty in shelling small acorns. the acorns also have the brown skin covering the kernal which apparantly adds a bitter taste if not removed. Both the valley and burr oaks were quite successful. both trees supplied large acorns and both were free of the offending brown skin. The english oak was also worth the effort although I gather that some trees have sweet acorns and others produce acorns with a fair quantity of tannin. Method: the shelled acorns were ground in a kitchen blender with enough water to help the blender go round. the slush was then put in a large metal dish and stirred thoroughly, then allowed to settle for 12 hours. the brown tannic water was poured off into another metal dish and more clear water was added to the slush and stirred. This was repeated about 4 times before the water remained relatively clean (pale light brown or fawn). this was strained through a tea towel and the resulting acorn meal was placed in a dish and allowed to dry out. The resulting "flour" was used to make fairly basic scones (egg, salt, butter and "flour" mixed together) and made very pleasant eating. the processed acorns make a rather sweet tasting flour and if someone else did all the work i could make it my staple diet. Disadvantages include: shelling the acorns. leaching the mush/slush for 2 or three days and getting so little acorn meal out of a lot of acorns. Questions: a. does tannin accumulate in the body? assuming that even the best leaching will leave some tannic acid - will a constant diet eventually damage the kidneys? (or is it the liver?). b. does the tannic acid remove itself if the acorn is kept for a year? or if it is buried and sprouted? or if it is roasted? - will roasting in some way destroy the tannin? c. is the flour a good substitute for cereal flours for those allergic to grains (celiac? allergy)? d. does anyone know a good way of shelling acorns? e. are there any commercial suppliers of acorn flour? f. when the comment in the pfaf list says of an acorn "can be eaten out of hand", does this mean that it has a sweet taste and that you don't need strong jaws? I was interested to see that the initial water poured off (see para 5) when allowed to settle precipitated a reasonable amount of whitish sediment which I assume to be a variety of starch. I tasted a little bit of it (it was brittle) and it had a sweet taste and melted in the mouth. I rang the local university in the hope of getting it analysed but was told that it would cost me an arm and a leg for their trouble - therefore a further question: Question g. can anyone tell me if acorns produce a known type of starch - is this starch nutritious - if not starch what is? Would you be able to advise me in regard to a book on the preparation of acorns or a study of the nutritional value (and the dangers) of them. have you any contacts with someone who may be an expert in this regard? grateful if you could help in some way. Cross references: Plants: Quercus macrocarpa. Genera: Quercus. making flour from acornsUnknown Fri Dec 1 22:52:15 2000 Read j Russell smiths book Tree crops a permenant agriculture Cross references: Plants: Quercus macrocarpa. Genera: Quercus. Main Search Page Help Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
This page (UK)
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest. |
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