Acorn is the
nut produced by any of the various kinds of oak trees. Acorns are
sometimes used to feed hogs. Many wild birds and mammals, including
quail, deer, and squirrels, eat acorns. Many kinds of acorns are bitter.
American Indians crushed and soaked acorns to remove the bitterness.
American pioneers ate acorns when food was scarce. See also OAK.
Contributor:
Richard A. Jaynes, Ph.D., Horticulturalist and Consultant, Broken Arrow
Nursery.
Note of
interest:
The acorn
woodpecker of the western United States drills holes for storing acorns,
which it eats when other food is scarce.
Acorns were
among the most important food among American Indians. Women gathered
acorns, washed them, and pounded them into flour. The women then cooked
the flour to make acorn mush or bread. Women also gathered pine nuts,
mesquite beans, grass seed, cactus fruits, and berries. They collected
clams and other shellfish along the seacoast. The men hunted such game
animals as bighorn sheep, deer, elk, and pronghorns. Some coastal groups
hunted seals and other sea mammals. Salmon was the main fish caught.
