Native Plant Database

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Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Tree
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Fruit:

Bloom Information

Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May

Distribution

USA: AR , CT , DE , IA , IL , IN , KS , LA , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , NC , NH , NJ , NY , OH , OK , PA , RI , SC , VA , VT , WI , WV
Canada: NB , ON , PE , QC
USDA Native Status: L48(N), CAN(N)

Benefit

Use Food: EDIBLE PARTS: Acorns (nuts) are edible after tannins are leached or boiled out. Gather nuts during the fall from September to October. Only gather the ripe tan-to-brown acorns, rather than the unripe green ones. remove bitterness, shell the brown, ripe acorns and remove any corky skin layers, dice the meat, and boil the chunks in water from 15 to 30 minutes until the water turns brown. Then pour off the water and repeat the process until the water clears, indicating that the tannic acid has been removed. During the last boiling, salt water can be added; then the acorns can be deep fried or mixed in a soup. Finely chopped acorn meats can be added to bread doughs and muffin batters. After the leaching process, acorn meat can be frozen. To make flour, the boiled acorn meat can be split in two and dried by slowly baking in a 200 degree oven with the door cracked to allow moisture to escape. Crush or grind and use as a thickener or a flour. Another method is to roast the fresh acorn to work well in a grinder or blender. After grinding, place the flour into a cloth bag and boil to leach out bitterness. Leached acorns, after they are roasted until brittle, can be ground and used as a marginal coffee substitute. (Poisonous Plants of N.C.)
Warning: POISONOUS PARTS: Acorns (seeds of nuts) and young leaves. Low toxicity if eaten. Symptoms include stomach pain, constipation and later bloody diarrhea, excessive thirst and urination. (Poisonous Plants of N.C.)
Attracts: Butterflies
Larval Host: Hickory Hairstreak (Satyrium caryaevorum), Edwards Hairstreak (S. edwardsii)

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)

Quercus rubra var. ambigua is a larval host and/or nectar source for:

Hickory Hairstreak (Satyrium caryaevorus) Larval Host Learn more at BAMONA

Bibliography

Bibref 1186 - Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America (2005) Covell, C.V., Jr.
Bibref 1185 - Field Guide to Western Butterflies (Peterson Field Guides) (1999) Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright

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Recommended Species Lists

Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.

View Recommended Species page

Additional resources

USDA: Find Quercus rubra var. ambigua in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Quercus rubra var. ambigua in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Quercus rubra var. ambigua