You are bidding on 12 NORTHERN RED OAK ACORNS - Quercus rubra .
It is a native of North America, in the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada.
This is a medium sized, deciduous tree with a rounded to broad-spreading, often irregular crown. Typically grows at a moderate-to-fast rate to a height of 50-75' (often larger in the wild).
Dark, lustrous green leaves (grayish-white beneath) 5" to 9" in length with 7-11, toothed lobes which are sharply pointed at the tips. Leaves turn brownish-red in autumn
Fruits are large, bitter acorn, maturing the second year. The acorn length is 3/4" to nearly 2". They are blunt topped, and flat at the base with the base being enclosed in a very shallow, dark brown cup.
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 50.00 to 75.00 feet
Spread: 50.00 to 75.00 feet
Medicinal use of :
The bark and inner bark is antiseptic, astringent, emetic, febrifuge and tonic. It is used in the treatment of diarrhea, chronic dysentery, indigestion, asthma, severe coughs, hoarseness, intermittent fevers, bleeding etc. Externally, it is used as a wash for skin eruptions, rashes, burns etc. The bark can be chewed as a treatment for mouth sores. The bark contains tannins, experimentally these have been shown to be antiviral, antiseptic, anticancer and also carcinogenic. Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of hemorrhages, chronic diarrhea, dysentery etc.
Edible parts of :
Seed - cooked. A staple food for several native North American Indian tribes. Up to 3cm long. It can 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 it 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 a coffee substitute.
Other uses of :
A reddish-brown dye can be obtained from the bark. Wood - coarse-grained, hard, strong, heavy, not durable. It weighs 41lb per cubic foot. An important lumber source in America, it is highly valued for flooring, furniture, veneer, construction etc.