Bur Oak Acorn, Walnut-sized Nut

I spotted the curious-looking bur oak acorn just before Halloween. The acorn had a bushy cap, like a short-dreadlocks hairstyle. The acorn itself seemed about the size of a walnut. After I took it home, I found that the cap easily detached. The composite shows the acorn and cap with measuring stick.

I needed help with IDing the acorn; I made a composite picture with measuring stick, the acorn, and some live oak acorns for acorn-size comparisons.

Mama mia! Like imagining a bunch of munchins grouped near Jabba the Hutt!

I posted the comparison image to LinkedIn with a request for ID help. A LinkedIn connection kindly IDed it as a bur oak acorn and provided a link that redirected to Etsy’s “Popular items for burr oak acorns”. What an eyeful!

TexasSmartScape’s “Bur Oak Details” provides a general-interest description suitable for would-be tree owners. The acorn size info confirms largeness—“The acorns can be up to 2 inches in size”. The cap description is “thick mossy”.

"What Is This Thing? Bur oak acorn cap" goes into great detail about the cap. The site shows some pictures of size variations of one tree’s acorns and leaves. (Other comparison pictures show acorns and caps for bur oak against some other oaks.)

gargantuan, monster acorn caps from the bur oak tree (Quercus macrocarpa) … weird because of the shaggy ornamentation encircling the cap. … Caps in the southern portion have long fringe hairs while others at the far north of its range are much smaller and barely have any shag at all. … The shagginess and the size of the cap are the reason for one of the tree's other common names: mossy-cup oak. … The Latin name macrocarpa translates to "large fruit." The acorns of bur oak are the largest of all the native oaks.

"How to Identify Oaks Using Acorns" was helpful in identifying the smallish acorns I collected in the yard. These are shiny, stripey, and sleek, and matched pictures of live oak acorns on the site.

Although I also have Texas red oak trees (Quercus buckleyi)—or trees closely related to them, the site’s pictures of red oaks' acorns more resemble the nuts I’ve seen in spring sproutings. (I’d actually transplanted a few over the years. I kid about squirrels burying such nuts and forgetting about them later.)

“How to Identify Oaks by the Acorns” is another source for identifying oaks by their acorns. The websites’ approaches are different, but helpful with content and images.

Are you ambitious enough to try to process acorns for consumption? “Foraging for Acorns: Identification, Processing + Acorn Recipes” is loaded with how-to information.

November 30, 2022: Four years later, encounter with oak bur trees, leaves, and acorns, not merely a solo acorn. Visit "BurOakTreesSpottedAndAcornsPiqued". Also view the video.

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"Bur Oak Acorn, Walnut-sized Nut" (primer bur oak acorn info)
"Bur Oak Trees Spotted and Acorns Piqued"
"End of 2022 Re-viewing Bur Oak, Deer Bookends