The oak nut or better known as the acorn is the seed of the oak tree. We have seen these little nuts our whole life. Little did we know these seeds actually had meaning behind them. They aren’t just meals for squirrels or things we throw at each other when we were kids. The acorn is an image that is old with a great deal of symbolism. This is why it isn’t uncommon to see an acorn tattoo on the body of a tattoo enthusiast.

As mentioned, the acorn tattoo carries a lot of meaning and it isn’t just there for looks. In this post we plan to talk a bit about the characteristics of the acorn and what it symbolizes whether it is in a dream or tattooed on your skin. By the end of this post we hope you have a better understanding of the meaning behind the acorn tattoo and what it represents for the person with the tattoo.

About the Acorn

Acorns play a crucial role in forest ecology when there are many oak trees around or they are the dominant tree in the area. Depending on the number of acorns mean there is a great deal of stress or great abundance of animals in the area that feed on this nut.

Acorns are a large part of the diet of small mammals, mice, other rodents, jays, ducks, pigeons and woodpeckers to name a few. In countries like Portugal, England and Spain, pigs are let loose to gorge themselves on acorns to fatten up for harvest. However, too many acorns can be toxic because of their tannins for some animals.

Acorns are such a popular choice for food for animals because they are large in size which makes them easy to consume. In addition to their ease of consumption, acorns are packed full of nutrients. Acorns are known to contain large amounts of protein, fats and carbs as well as other important nutrients.

The tannins of the acorn are what make it hard on some animals to consume. High levels of tannins make it difficult for some animals to metabolize protein. This is why these animals will choose acorns with less amounts of tannins. Other animals choose to let ground water clear out some of the tannins. Jays and squirrels are amongst the animals that process the acorn in this fashion.