Quercus garryana

What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds, Nuts

The acorn can be eaten raw or cooked and has a sweet flavour. Size varies by report — up to 25mm long in some accounts, up to 32mm long and 25mm wide in others. The seed can be ground into flour for making bread, or used as a thickener for soups and stews. The seeds have a high tannin content; these bitter compounds can be leached out by thoroughly washing the dried, ground seed in water, though minerals are also lost. Whole seeds may take several days or weeks to leach properly; wrapping them in a cloth bag and placing in a running stream is one traditional method. Ground meal leaches faster. A taste test confirms when enough tannin has been removed. Traditionally, seeds were buried in boggy ground over winter and dug up in spring once most of the astringency had gone. The roasted seed makes a coffee substitute.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows on dry rocky ground. It will also grow on coastal sites as long as it is not affected by tidal flooding. It cannot tolerate shade. It suits hardiness zones 5-10.

Australia, Canada, North America, USA,

How to Identify

A small tree. It grows to 20 m high. The trunk is 150 cm across. The leaves are thick and stiff. They are 7-10 cm long. There are 5-7 lobes. These are rounded and have deep notches. The upper surface is shiny green and dull green underneath. The stalk is 1-3 cm long. The acorns are 25-30 mm long. They can occur singly or in pairs. The stalks are 1-3 cm long.

Nutrition Score: 55/100

How to Grow

Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side. Lime tolerant. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted. Prefers warmer summers than are usually experienced in Britain, trees often grow poorly in this country and fail to properly ripen their wood resulting in frost damage overwinter. A slow-growing and drought tolerant tree, it can live for 500 years. Seed production is cyclic, with a year of high production being followed by 2 - 3 years of lower yields. The tree flowers on new growth produced in spring, the seed ripening in its first year. Intolerant of root disturbance, trees should be planted in their permanent positions whilst young. Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.

Propagation: Acorns lose viability quickly if allowed to dry out. They can be stored moist and cool over winter, but are best sown as soon as ripe in an outdoor seed bed with protection from mice and squirrels. Small quantities can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Because plants develop a deep taproot early, they should be moved to permanent positions as soon as possible — seed sown in situ produces the best trees. Do not leave trees in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons, as they transplant very poorly after that point.

Medicinal Uses

Any galls that form on the tree are strongly astringent and have been used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, and dysentery. A decoction of the bark has been used to treat tuberculosis. An infusion of the plant has been drunk by a mother before the birth of her first child, and the pounded bark has been rubbed on the abdomen and sides of the mother before her first delivery.

Other Uses

A mulch of the leaves repels slugs and grubs, though fresh leaves should not be used as they can inhibit plant growth. Oak galls, produced by the larvae of various insects, can be harvested after the insect pupates and leaves — they are a rich source of tannin that also functions as a dyestuff. The wood is hard, heavy, strong, tough, close-grained, durable, and easy to split. It is used for furniture, cabinetmaking, and general construction, as well as for fence posts and fuel.

Quercus garryana is an oak tree species found most commonly in the Pacific Northwest, with a range stretching from southern California to southwestern British Columbia. It is commonly known as the Garry oak, Oregon white oak or Oregon oak. It is named for Nicholas Garry, deputy governor of the Hudson's Bay Company.

Production

It is a slow growing tree. It grows for 200 years.

Notes

There are about 600 Quercus species.

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