Reaching a ripe old age

Not all types of fruit take the same amount of time to develop, and not all ripen at the same time of year. This photo shows oak acorns at different stages of growth. They take two years to complete their fruiting cycle.

While this information may seem unimportant, oak sylviculturists (Discipline for the exploitation of forest trees. ), who use acorns to feed sheep, goats and pigs, make good use of it. By growing a variety of oak species with fruit that ripens in different seasons, they have fresh acorns available almost year round.