The Oak family is usually divided into two groups: the White Oak, and the Red (and Black) Oak. The white Oaks have leaves with deep lobes and rounded ends, scaly bark, and acorns that ripen in one season, and are somewhat sweet and edible raw. The Red Oaks have leaves with more shallow lobes and sharp tips, bark that's firm and rigid, and acorns that take two seasons to mature to a bitter nut that requires leaching before becoming edible. The Chinquapin Oak is like the White Oak except that its leaves have sharp "teeth."

The White Oaks are used more frequently for food and medicine, so I'll discuss these first. The stately White Oak has been described as the King of the Eastern Forest. The first European settlers to these shores recognized these Oaks immediately as friends, as they are closely related to the English Oak, as well as other European Oaks. The Oak groves of pre-Christian Britain and France were the temples of the Druidic nature religion, sacred to the Great Goddess, Mother of all Creation. Moreover the acorns provided rich fodder for semi-domesticated pigs of the Middle Ages. Many of the ancient Oak stands of Britain and France were cut down by early Christian zealots as part of the drive to stamp out the "old ways", and in so doing much of this precious practical and spiritual resource of the (local?) peasantry was destroyed.

So the great Oaks of America must have been a welcome sight to the early settlers. Some were over 100 feet tall, 8 feet in diameter, and about 750 years old. The settlers had visions of sturdy cabins, oaken ships, and home (?). The King of France heard of the Oaks and declared the right to cut and remove all the Oak timber he felt he needed without paying, and he did. Everyone has found the wood to be one of the best hardwoods for many purposes, such as furniture, flooring, barrel staves, boat building, railroad ties and fuel. It is strong, tough and highly resistant to decay.

The acorns are relatively sweet, and have been eaten by both Native Peoples and settlers both as a starchy protein staple and as a dietary supplement, especially during famine, in breads, soups, porridge, as well as toasted and ground as a coffee substitute and "out of hand". Acorns are 25% fat, 60% carbohydrate, and 6% protein. Nearly all herbivorous animals and birds eat acorns.

Medicinally, acorns were eaten to stop internal bleeding and bloody urine, to allay nausea and vomiting, to prevent miscarriage, to resist the poison of venomous creatures, to resist the force of poisonous medicines, to stop a spasmodic cough, to ease asthma (attacks?) and calm chronic asthma, to help with amenorrhea (abnormal absence of menstruation?), to ease rheumatism, and to heal an ulcerated bladder. Eating them can induce thirst (?).

Since acorns are about 25% fat, it's fairly easy to extract the oil, which has a reputation as a soothing liniment for painful joints and as an "invigorator" for the limbs. The method is to boil the acorns in a lye of maple ashes until the oil floats on top.

There have been myriad medicinal uses of the inner bark of White Oak. Most of them use to good advantage the great astringent qualities, the salicin-like (analgesic?) "quercetin", and its excellent antiseptic (properties?).

Three common preparations (for a bark tea?) are (as follows?):

. Infusing one teaspoon of the bark in one pint of water, simmering for 10 minutes , and drinking 3 times a day;

. Steeping one ounce of bark in a pint of water, and swallowing one teaspoonful 3 or 4 times a day;

. Boiling one ounce of bark in one quart of water, reducing it down to a pint, and taking it in wineglass doses.

Though available all year the bark is best gathered in early spring. The most common uses of Oak bark tea were for diarrhea and dysentery. Fresh bark is best. Depending on the severity of the ailment, try a strong decoction; drink a teaspoon to a tablespoon every 3 hours until the bowels are checked, and then again after each later bowel movement until all is settled. Similarly this decoction could be used for bleeding piles (hemorrhoids) with the added treatment of applying some as a warm poultice on the affected area. Varicose veins (can benefit from?) internal and external application (of this same decoction?).

Other results sough in drinking Oak bark tea have been the healing of internal hemorrhage; bloody urine; menstrual problems; leukorrhea (vaginal mucous discharge?); uncontrolled vomiting; catarrh; ulcerated bladder; stomach troubles; gonorrhea; goiter; regular and ague fevers; mucous discharges from the bowels; dyspepsia; mucous congestion of the respiratory tract; post-nasal drip; nocturnal emissions; phthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis?); and edema (?). It has also been taken as a tonic, a diuretic, to help resist the force of various poisonous substances, and to prevent miscarriage.

Externally Oak bark tea has been used as a gargle and mouth wash for bleeding gums, swollen tongue and sore throat; as an enema fluid; as an antiseptic wash for wounds; for falling hair and dandruff; for sore eyes; for smelly or sweaty feet; as a poultice for sores and skin irritations; to stop frost-bite and gangrene; to stop ruptures and bleeding; and as a douche for leukorrhea, ulceration of the womb and prolapsed uterus.

For the bath, soak 2 pounds of bark in cold water for 3 to 5 hours, boil for 30 minutes, and add to the bath water. It can be used (in this same manner?) for reducing fevers and for healing varicose veins.

The leaves of White Oak have been infused into a tea, drunk as a tonic and a diarrhea remedy, and used externally as a poultice for wounds. A tea of the winter buds can be used internally or externally for infections, inflammations and burning fevers (of various origins?). The root bark has also been used as a poultice to stop the bleeding of wounds.

Oaks sometimes have "galls" on the branches, a growth around a wasp like insect egg-nest. These turn out to be one of the most powerful of all vegetable (?) astringents. Gall decoctions have been employed as a styptic to stop bleeding form nose and gums( and almost everywhere else): to heal gonorrhea, leukorrhea, diarrhea, dysentery and hemorrhoids, as a douche for leukorrhea; as a throat gargle; and as a poison antidote. The recipe is to boil one ounce of gall in one pint of water. The resulting tea can also be used as an ink or dye when mixed with ferric (iron) salt.

The Bur (?) Oak (known as the "mossycup") is the norther-most variety of White Oak. Its bark has specifically been used as an astringent poultice or wrapping for broken feet or legs.

Oak barks are often used for tanning leather and as a dye ingredient. The twigs of White Oaks are commonly browsed by deer, rabbits and hares. Porcupines love the growing layer just beneath the bark.

Now we turn to the Red Oak family. Here in the Middle North Red Oak is the most common variety, often being found braving exposed hilltops. Their acorns are the most nutritious and abundant food available in the autumn for wildlife. The quantity of the Red Oak acorns available actively affects the health, population density and home territory of Black Bears. The wood of Red Oak is not considered as valuable as that of White Oak. In the early days Red Oaks weren't even harvested until White Oak stocks became depleted. The Red Oaks lumber is lighter, more difficult to season, and more porous. Still it is frequently used for fuel, poles, posts, furniture doors, railway ties, and so on. The Black Oak (of the Red Oak family) has a very high quantity of tannin in the outer bark that was well used by tanners, while the orange inner bark was used as a good dye, called "quenrcitron", for homespun clothes, wool, silk and paper-hanging. The dark brown colour was modified by ferrous (iron) salts.

Medicinally, the barks of the Red Oak family can be substituted for White Oak barks, but FOR EXTERNAL USES ONLY > As an external antiseptic wash it can be safely used for sore eyes. Overdoses taken internally may derange the bowels. A very powerful astringent, the inner bark teas has been drunk as a heart tonic, to ease bronchitis, and to stop internal bleeding, but I must advise EXTREME CAUTION>

The ashes of the inner bark have been applied to eliminate skin cancers.

For human consumption the Red Oak acorns need to have their bitter tannin removed. One method is to grind the nuts and boil the gruel 4 or 5 times, changing the water each time; what is left is like a corn meal that is till very nutritious.