What is mast?

Our Southeast Missouri forests have many kinds of trees. Mast is a term that describes the parts of woody stemmed plants that are a food source for wild animals such as squirrels, deer and turkeys.

"Soft mast" refers to leaf buds, catkins and berries. "Hard mast" refers to oak acorns, hickory nuts and beech nuts.

My photo shows hard mast fruits of a red oak tree.

A "mast year" refers to a year in which the trees have produced a bountiful crop of mast. Because of favorable weather conditions this year, it appears red oak trees have achieved a mast year.