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Herbal Database Search ResultsBack to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven Quercus macrocarpa
Physical CharacteristicsA decidious tree growing to 15m by 8m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 3 and is frost tender. It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen in October. 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 and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution. Habitats and Possible LocationsWoodland, Canopy.
Cultivar 'Ashworth': Woodland, Canopy. Edible UsesSeed.
Seed - cooked[101, 105, 161, 257]. Very large, the seed can be up to
5cm x 4cm[82, 200], though it is somewhat variable in size and shape[227].
The seed can be ground into a powder and used in making bread, dumplings etc
and as a thickener in soups[183]. The seed of this species is considered to
be one of the most palatable of all the oaks[159, 183]. Many trees have sweet
seeds with little tannin and the seed can be eaten raw or cooked. If the seed
is bitter then this is due to the presence of tannins, these can be leached
out by thoroughly washing the dried and ground up seed in water, though many
minerals will also be lost. 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 UsesDisclaimerAntispasmodic Astringent Tonic.
The bark is astringent and tonic[61]. An infusion has been used in the
treatment of diarrhoea[257].
Other UsesMordant Repellent Tannin Wood.
A mulch of the leaves repels slugs, grubs etc, though fresh leaves
should not be used as these can inhibit plant growth[20].
Cultivation detailsPrefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side[11]. Lime tolerant[188]. Succeeds in a hot dry position. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade[200]. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted[200]. A slow-growing tree[188]. Established plants are drought resistant[229] and tolerant of atmospheric pollution[226].Trees have a thick, fire-resistant bark[274]. Occasionally cultivated for its edible seed, there are some named varieties[183]. Slow growing in the wild, it takes about 30 years to start producing seed, though it then continues to crop for the next 200 - 300 years with large crops being produced every 2 - 3 years[229]. The tree flowers on new growth produced in spring, the seed ripening in its first year[200, 229]. Prefers warmer summers than are usually experienced in Britain, often growing poorly in this country and failing to properly ripen its wood, resulting in frost damage overwinter[11, 200]. A tree at the Hillier Arboretum in Hampshire was growing well in September 1993. It was 9 metres tall but had a lot of mildew, there was no sign of seeds[K]. There is a dwarf form of this species:- Q. macrocarpa depressa (Nutt.)Engelm. grows about 2 metres tall with corky branches and smaller seeds than the species, usually about 1cm long[227]. 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.Cultivars
SuppliersFor more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look. PFAF Web PagesThis plant is mentioned in the following web pagesWeb 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[K] Ken Fern
[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 [20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0 [43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950 [46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959 [61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202 [82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X [101] Turner. N. J. and Szczawinski. A. Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences 1978 [105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976 [149] Vines. R. A. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press 1987 ISBN 0-292-78958-3 [159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4 [161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture. [171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952 [183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 [188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7 [200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 [226] Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. 1989 ISBN 0889025649 [227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206 [229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622 [257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9 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: 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: Genera: Quercus. Main Search Page Help Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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