Collecting Acorns and Seeds Helps Preserve Virginia Species

Citizens can help preserve native Virginia tree species by collecting acorns and seeds from 15 species and delivering them to the nearest Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) office.

“Every bag of acorns and seeds collected will help us keep Virginia beautiful,” said Josh McLaughlin, nursery forester.

Species needed, and the total weight of each being sought by the VDOF:

• Bald Cypress (seed) - 300 lbs.
• Black Oak – 2,000 lbs.
• Black Walnut – 5,000 lbs.
• Chestnut Oak – 3,000 lbs.
• Chinese Chestnut (seed) – 3,000 lbs.
• Chinkapin (seed) - 300 lbs.
• Hazelnut (seed) - 200 lbs.
• Northern Red Oak – 5,000 lbs.
• Pin Oak – 1,000 lbs.
• Sawtooth Oak – 1,000 lbs.
• Southern Red Oak - 500 lbs.
• Swamp White Oak – 1,000 lbs.
• Swamp Chestnut Oak – 1,000 lbs.
• White Oak – 5,000 lbs.
• Willow Oak - 500 lbs.

Generally, the best time to collect acorns is the last week in September through the first week of October. Lawns or paved areas can make ideal collection sites. Single trees located in these areas make identifying the acorns easier. Always identify the tree and mark the non-plastic bags so the nursery will know what species you have collected. Do not combine acorns from different species of oaks in the same bag.

Learn more about acorn collection on the VDOF Web site at http://www.dof.virginia.gov/mgt/acorn-collect.shtml

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The Virginia Department of Forestry protects and develops healthy, sustainable forest resources for Virginians. Headquartered in Charlottesville, there are Forestry staff members assigned to every county to provide service to citizens of the Commonwealth. VDOF is an equal opportunity provider.

With nearly 16 million acres of forest land and more than 184,000 Virginians employed in forestry, forest products and related industries, Virginia forests provide more than $29 Billion annually in benefits to the Commonwealth.