Seed Production and Dissemination
In forest stands, black oak begins to produce seeds at about age 20 and reaches optimum production at 40 to 75 years. It is a consistent seed producer with good crops of acorns every 2 to 3 years. In Missouri, the average number of mature acorns per tree was generally higher than for other oaks over a 5-year period, but the number of acorns differed greatly from year to year and from tree to tree within the same stand.
The number of seeds that become available for regenerating black oak may be low even in good seed years. Insects, squirrels, deer, turkey, small rodents, and birds consume many acorns. They can eat or damage a high percentage of the acorn crop in most years and essentially all of it in poor seed years.
Black oak acorns from a single tree are dispersed over a limited area by squirrels, mice, and gravity. The blue jay may disperse over longer distances.
Read more about this topic: Quercus Velutina
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