Oriental White Oak Acorns

Oriental White Oak represents a species oak used for its edible acorns as well as flooring, boat building, and other uses where water resistant wood is required. The oak sometimes goes by the name Galcham oak in its native Korea. The acorns are used for coffee once roasted and as a kind of cereal substitute. The acorns are usually free of weevils and drop free of the cap.

No one has really looked at the species in terms of its use here in the U.S. and it was pretty much considered a botanical curiosity. When I had planted this oak, my goal was to use the acorns for acorn meal. The wood has broad rays and striations with large rings. It is quite vigorous even in the dry area I have it.  The trees are easy to establish and have large broad dark green leaves. 

Since my first plantings I have pruned the trees to an open crown. This has reduced the crown volume but created a more productive tree.  The tree is easy to establish and fruited when they reached eight foot tall. The acorns are produced on the whorls of branches at the end of the branches. It is not the most prolific acorn producer of all the species I have but it is consistent almost always having a crop. It appears to not hybridize from what I have seen of the progeny when I grew them at my farm. 

To germinate the acorns: Fall plant or store in cold and moisture for 90 days at 38F to 42F under refrigeration. Use lightly damp Canadian peat moss as an additive. The acorns rarely rot and do not sprout right away.