Beechnuts

Today's the day ......................  for mast

An autumnal walk along the River Dee today where I came upon lots of the above, covering the ground beneath a tall beech tree. 

It is the edible fruit of the beech, sometimes known as 'mast', found in small burrs that drop from the tree at this time of the year. They are small, roughly triangular and edible, although they can have rather a bitter, astringent taste. According to the Roman statesman Pliny the Elder in his work 'Natural History', beechnuts were eaten by the people of Chios when the town was besieged, as their only source of food.

Apparently, they can also be roasted and pulverized into an adequate coffee substitute.  But I imagine that would only happen if you were desperate and again under siege conditions .........................