Re: Chinquapin Oak

**B* M* <b*@verizon.net>**

Chinquapin oak -- the name rang a bell. I've heard that its acorns had less tannin than other varieties and could be eaten with little or no pretreatment. This species makes good fodder for wildlife and not just for squirrels.

In the fall I looked up edible acorns because of an expensive seminar I had heard about, plus I have two enormous ancient oaks here, a red oak and a white oak. In my browsings I learned that red oak acorns have a lot of tannin but white oak acorns are "sweeter."  Betty Earl, remember when I sent you white oak acorns for a tree planting project and the squirrels attacked the package in your mailbox?

Also, Native Americans used acorns as flour.. They would make mesh bags out of tough grasses, fill them with acorns, and attach them to rocks in the streams for a few weeks. This would leach out the water soluble tannins. Then they ground the nuts.

I hope your client will enjoy the oaks, Gloria.

Cheers,

Betty

________________________________
 From: Gloria Day <gloriaday@epix.net>
To: 'Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum' <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org> 
I have a client in PA who requested 2 Chinquapin oaks. Anyone have a resource for me?
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