George Shirley wrote:
> Mark Thorson wrote:
>
>> It's a California live oak, and I don't remember
>> this tree producing acorns of significant
>> size when I was a kid. The few acorns were
>> really tiny.
>
> Instead of eating them plant several in pots to transplant when the big
> tree is gone.

Absolutely. California live oak were an endangered species when we
lived in California. We moved in 2000 and in that brief time span I
doubt they have been removed from the list. Planting some would be an
extremely good idea.

I remember the live oaks in the neighborhood prducing small acorns. I
remember reading that native annual grasses have been gradually
supplanted by European perennial grasses and the thicker root systems of
perennial grasses are too thick for the tiny live oaks from tiny acorns
to be able to survive the few years it takes them to get to sizable
saplings that can not be strangled by grasses. If that's true then the
big acorns probably are a last ditch attempt at reproduction.

Please plant some and give them away. Those trees grow as slow as olive
trees and they are beautiful.

As long as you process the acrons like the natives did they should be
fine. I remember doing that in elementary school and the
bread-like-stuff we made from the acrons was fine. I've never tried it
since.