Seed - cooked[2, 46, 161]. The seed is large, up to 35mm long and 30mm wide[82], but contains bitter tannins[183]. Other reports say that the acorns are sweet and edible[82, 235]. The seed can be roasted then dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread[183]. The bitter tannins 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. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.


Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc[4].

Agroforestry Uses: The tree has been used in restoring degraded bottomland hardwood forests of the Southeastern USA[1050 ]. Other Uses: The leaves of most species in this genus are more or less rich in tannins. A mulch of the partially decayed leaves can be placed around vulnerable plants in order to repel slugs, snails, grubs etc, and these will in time break down to add humus and nutrients to the soil. Fresh leaves should be used with caution, however, since as these decay they utilize some of the nitrogen in the soil and thus can inhibit plant growth[20 , K ]. Oak galls are excrescences that are sometimes produced in great numbers on the tree and are caused by the activity of the larvae of different insects. The insects live inside these galls, obtaining their nutrient therein. When the insect pupates and leaves, the gall can be used as a rich source of tannin, that can also be used as a dyestuff and is also used by many cultures to make ink[4 , 331 ]. The bark of oak trees is also usually rich in tannins and can be used as a dyestuff and for waterproofing rope[331 , K ]. The wood is heavy, hard, very strong, tough, dense, durable, easy to split[82 , 171 , 235 ]. It weighs 50lb per cubic foot[235 ]. It machines well, but is subject to checking and warping if not dried properly. It i is largely used for flooring, furniture, boxes, barrels, boat making and veneer[229 , 1050 ]. The wood is a favoured fuel - burning well and giving off a lot of heat[331 , 229 ]

Special Uses