It's that time of the year again, Fall is in the air and the acorns are falling off the oak trees. We have a bunch of white and red oaks trees next to our house and the acorns are coming off the trees like crazy. So what is an acorn? An acorn is the nut of the oak tree. On average, a mature oak tree will drop around 75,000 to 150,000 acorns per year.
Acorns contains one seed that is surounded by a shell. Acorns consist of about 20% fat, 5% protein, 60% carbohydrate, and 15% water, mineral, and fiber. Acorns are an important food source for more than 100 species of vertebrates like white-tailed deer, squirrles, and mice in the US. Acorns were also an important food for native americans. Native americans would dry out the acorns, remove the shells and make a flour from the nut meat. This year has been an especially good year in my area for acorns. But I won't expect the same number of acorns next year. Acorn crop yields vary by year, and some are a lot better than others.
