The Beech family includes Chestnuts (why don't I have a picture?) and the Oaks. There's only one major native Beech, but the Oaks are legion. The Beech nut, above, is enclosed in a spiny burr, but is edible. Human beings find that most acorns (i.e. oak-corns) are not, though other animals are not so picky. Below are three of the most common types found in the Park. At left, Northern Red Oak, and at lower right, Pin Oak. They are native species, and close to ripe. Sometimes they fall so thickly that you'd think someone was throwing them at you. At upper right are Turkey Oak acorns, still green. When fully ripe, they will be the biggest of all. They should be called Turkish, since they are an Asian import, and there's already an American Turkey Oak, named for the bird, not the country. Their extensive burrs recall the Beech, or, even more, the Chestnut, but you still won't want to eat them. For that we must look elsewhere...