We collected acorns and different types of leaves from our backyard.
Facts about Oak Trees:
- Oak trees can live 200 or more years
- Oaks have leaves with four or five pairs of lobes. They grow fruits called acorns in a little cup.
- Oak trees can start producing acorns when they are 20 years old, but sometimes can go all the way to 50 years for the first production. By the time the tree is 70 to 80 years old it will produce thousands of acorns.
- The oak trees produce acorns once a year during the fall
- Oak trees can live a thousand years or more and grow up to 40 m. In Europe, oaks are the oldest of all trees.
- Oak wood is very strong and durable and so was the main building wood for centuries — used for timber frames in houses and for building ships.
I had Junebug sort the oak tree leaves from the other leaves.
Plus, she sorted the acorns that were nibbled on by the squirrels
from the ones that weren't touched yet :)
Ever notice the acorns with the small holes?
Read about this interesting fact before you bring those acorns inside!
Little insects called weevils like to plant their seeds inside acorns before
they mature -- during the late summer months. Up to 90% of the acorns in a
region can be destroyed by the larvae of the weevils. On the
other hand, if there are not enough acorns, that can impact the weevils'
population. (from http://ejad.best.vwh.net/java/population/facts_oaks.html)
