How to Identify Acorns

Identifying an acorn is simple.

The acorn is the nut of an oak tree, and for this, it is often referred to as the oak nut. Because of their dietary properties, their motif in arts and crafting and their mythological relevance, these nuts are a desirable find. Thankfully, they are abundant and identifying them can be simple. Does this Spark an idea?

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Nutcracker

Instructions

- 1
  
  Find an oak tree. Oaks in North America have trunks that are usually steel-gray with plenty of ridges and furrows. These trees have a fairly distinct foliage, as the leaves are typically 4 to 8 inches long, each with 7 to 11 pointed tips. They tend to grow anywhere from 70 to 100 feet in height.
- 2
  
  Look for a tough, leathery, cup-shaped nut that has a newsboy cap-resembling top growing on the tree or on the ground below it. The cup part of the acorn will be light brown, while the cap part will be dark brown. These nuts range in size, varying everywhere from 1/3 inch to nearly 3 inches in length.
- 3
  
  Crack open the shell using a nutcracker. Encased within, you should find a single seed. One seed will determine that it is, indeed, an acorn, while multiple seeds will rule the oak nut out as a possibility.

Tips & Warnings

There is no rush in eating or preserving acorns, because, as made famous by squirrels, this type of nut can be stored for years without expiry.
If you are planning to consume any found acorns, realize that although all oak nuts are edible, most species are extremely bitter.