INCREDIBLE

Connecticut Nature

ACORNS dpnc.org 109 Pequotsepos Road • Mystic, CT 06355

Many people don’t know that acorns are the seeds from an oak tree. Connecticut is home to many different types of oak trees, including red, black, white
and chestnut. Each type of oak tree produces a unique acorn that falls to the ground in autumn and each one has the potential to grow into a new tree.
However, acorns are much more than just average seeds. They are one of the most important sources of food to wildlife in Connecticut.

Squirrels, deer, turkey, foxes, blue jays, bears, raccoons, chipmunks and mice are a few of the animals
who eat acorns. Like people, animals prefer particular types of acorns, and the most popular acorn for
wildlife comes from the white oak tree. Acorns contain tannic acid, which causes a bitter taste. White
acorns contain less and therefore are the most sought after. While some animals eat the acorns they
find right away, other animals will store them for the winter. Gray squirrels bury their acorns and other
nuts in a variety of locations, but have a system for remembering their locations. Squirrels work so hard
at remembering where they have stored their acorns that their brains actually grow bigger during prime
nut-hoarding season. Red squirrels bury all their nuts in one place, called a cache, and will defend the
area from other animals. Blue Jays also collect and store acorns for eating later. Blue Jays have an
expandable throat pouch where they carry the acorns to hiding locations. Squirrels and blue jays plant so
many acorns that they play an important role in the continuation of our oak forests.

Acorns are also eaten by insects. One of the most fascinating of these is the acorn weevil. The mother weevil lays eggs in the developing acorn where the
babies (larvae) hatch. The larvae eat the acorn and when the acorn falls to the ground in autumn, they chew tiny holes to crawl out of. From there the larvae
go underground where they live for several
years before pupating and emerging as adults
who climb the oak trees to lay eggs. Animals
know which acorns have been weeviled and
will leave them in favor of the good ones.

Look at the diagram of the acorn. The outside

of the acorn is made up of four parts. What
is often called the cap of an acorn is made
up of the stem, where the acorn was attached
to the branch and the cupule which holds the
seed. The hard pericap protects the seed. At
the base of the acorn is remains of the style,
which was originally part of the oak tree’s flower. On the inside of the acorn is the seed coat which provides another layer of protection for the seed. There
is also the beginnings of the oak tree, the radicle which will develop into the root and the plumule which will become the stem. The cotyledon provides food
to the sprouting oak tree and is the part of acorn that is nutritious to wildlife.

The number of acorns varies from year to year. When an oak tree produces many more acorns than usual it is called a mast year. When there are a lot of
acorns, there’s a better chance of acorns being left by the animals, allowing the next generation of oak trees to sprout in the spring. Acorns are amazing!

Acorn Hunt!
Try It! Go on an acorn hunt in
your neighborhood!

Can you find?

• Acorns that have been weeviled?
• Different shaped acorns?
• The shells of acorns where animals CCSS.ELA.Reading:
have been eating them Informational Text: 3-5.2, 3-5.3, 3-5.8