Quercus palustris Tree Seeds - Pin Oak Seeds - Deciduous Frost Hardy Tree

Quercus palustris Seeds

Common Names: Pin Oak, Swamp Oak, Water Oak, Swamp Spanish Oak

Pin oak (Quercus palustris), also called swamp oak, water oak, and swamp Spanish oak, is a fast-growing, moderately large tree that is often found growing on poorly drained clay soils. The wood is hard and heavy and is used in general construction and for firewood. Pin oak transplants well and is tolerant of the many stresses of the urban environment, so has become a favored tree for streets and landscapes.

Quercus palustris is a deciduous Tree growing to 25 m by 8 m at a fast rate. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by wind. The seeds are edible when cooked and can also be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread. The seed contains bitter tannins; these 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 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 also a coffee substitute.