If you get to know me a little more you will learn that I love fun facts and trivia. I also love infographics. Here’s a cool one from Trees.com with facts about oak trees. Bur oak, Quercus macrocarpa is my favorite tree.

The infographic mentions eating acorns. I have eaten biscuits that my friend made with bur oak acorn flour. They were really yummy, quite hearty and filling. Making the acorn flour is a lot of work, you have to be committed. I have heard that the best way to get the tannins out is to put the acorns in a basket and put the basket in a stream or river where the water is running fast and tie it to a branch or a rock. As the water flows over the acorns the tannins get washed out. I don’t know how long it takes. Lucky for me, my friend made the flour and the biscuits so all I had to do was enjoy them. She used the method of boiling the acorns, pouring off the brown water and repeating until the water remains clear.

The infographic doesn’t mention one of my favorite fun facts, cork oaks native to Spain and Portugal produce cork. The cork is a layer under their outer bark that the trees grow to protect themselves from wildfires. Every 9 years or so, skilled harvesters trim the bark off with special tools taking care not to cut too deep to damage the inner vascular tissues of the trees. So they can harvest the material without killing the trees, unlike lumber. My floor in my office is made of cork. It’s relatively renewable compared to other building materials. Cork oaks occasionally grow here in Austin but not easily, my experience with them has been mixed. I think heavy clay soil, rainy weather and cold weather in the winter are all hard on them, but I’m not sure how our climate compares to their home turf over in the Iberian Peninsula. Enjoy the fun facts!