Southern Live Oak
Quercus virginiana
Quercus virginiana Mill.
Coastal Live Oak, Southern Live Oak, Virginia Live Oak, Live Oak, Encino
Fagaceae (Beech Family)
Synonym(s):
USDA Symbol: QUVI
USDA Native Status: L48 (N)
An open-grown live oak is a massive, picturesque, wide-spreading tree with magnificent horizontal and arching branches that form a broad, rounded canopy. A squat, tapering trunk (larger in diameter than that of any other oak) supports the huge, irregular limbs which often rest their elbows on the ground. Dimensions are 40-80 ft. in height and 60-100 ft. in width. Dark-green, waxy, unlobed leaves fall just as new leaves emerge in the spring, making the tree appear evergreen, though the coordinated leaf loss means it's not actually a true evergreen.
This is the familiar Spanish moss-covered oak of plantations in southeastern North America. Its massive limbs and persistent, glossy foliage have sustained its popularity as a residential shade tree to the present day. It is rarely found inland except in cultivation, where it becomes semi-deciduous and slower growing than those that receive the moisture-laden winds of the coast. Adequate water is essential to maintaining this tree, though it is fairly drought-tolerant once established within its range. It is, however, quite susceptible to oak wilt where that is a problem, so treating surface wounds and avoiding damage to the roots is important. Though this is the best known live oak, there are a few North American live oak species also popular in residential landscaping, including on the West Coast, California Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia Née), and, in southern Oklahoma, central Texas, and northeastern Mexico, Escarpment Live Oak (Q. fusiformis Small), sometimes regarded as a mere variety of Q. virginiana but currently considered a distinct species. Escarpment live oak has slightly smaller leaves, broadest toward the base, and acorns with cups narrowed at the base (fusiform). It is more drought-tolerant than Q. virginiana and is commonly planted in drier parts of Texas. Both Q. virginiana and Q. fusiformis may send up dense shoots near or far from the trunk from rhizomes, sometimes so thickly that when mowed it looks like a groundcover.
Quercus virginiana
Quercus virginiana Mill.
Coastal Live Oak, Southern Live Oak, Virginia Live Oak, Live Oak, Encino
Fagaceae (Beech Family)
Synonym(s):
USDA Symbol: QUVI
USDA Native Status: L48 (N)
An open-grown live oak is a massive, picturesque, wide-spreading tree with magnificent horizontal and arching branches that form a broad, rounded canopy. A squat, tapering trunk (larger in diameter than that of any other oak) supports the huge, irregular limbs which often rest their elbows on the ground. Dimensions are 40-80 ft. in height and 60-100 ft. in width. Dark-green, waxy, unlobed leaves fall just as new leaves emerge in the spring, making the tree appear evergreen, though the coordinated leaf loss means it's not actually a true evergreen.
This is the familiar Spanish moss-covered oak of plantations in southeastern North America. Its massive limbs and persistent, glossy foliage have sustained its popularity as a residential shade tree to the present day. It is rarely found inland except in cultivation, where it becomes semi-deciduous and slower growing than those that receive the moisture-laden winds of the coast. Adequate water is essential to maintaining this tree, though it is fairly drought-tolerant once established within its range. It is, however, quite susceptible to oak wilt where that is a problem, so treating surface wounds and avoiding damage to the roots is important. Though this is the best known live oak, there are a few North American live oak species also popular in residential landscaping, including on the West Coast, California Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia Née), and, in southern Oklahoma, central Texas, and northeastern Mexico, Escarpment Live Oak (Q. fusiformis Small), sometimes regarded as a mere variety of Q. virginiana but currently considered a distinct species. Escarpment live oak has slightly smaller leaves, broadest toward the base, and acorns with cups narrowed at the base (fusiform). It is more drought-tolerant than Q. virginiana and is commonly planted in drier parts of Texas. Both Q. virginiana and Q. fusiformis may send up dense shoots near or far from the trunk from rhizomes, sometimes so thickly that when mowed it looks like a groundcover.
Quercus virginiana
Quercus virginiana Mill.
Coastal Live Oak, Southern Live Oak, Virginia Live Oak, Live Oak, Encino
Fagaceae (Beech Family)
Synonym(s):
USDA Symbol: QUVI
USDA Native Status: L48 (N)
An open-grown live oak is a massive, picturesque, wide-spreading tree with magnificent horizontal and arching branches that form a broad, rounded canopy. A squat, tapering trunk (larger in diameter than that of any other oak) supports the huge, irregular limbs which often rest their elbows on the ground. Dimensions are 40-80 ft. in height and 60-100 ft. in width. Dark-green, waxy, unlobed leaves fall just as new leaves emerge in the spring, making the tree appear evergreen, though the coordinated leaf loss means it's not actually a true evergreen.
This is the familiar Spanish moss-covered oak of plantations in southeastern North America. Its massive limbs and persistent, glossy foliage have sustained its popularity as a residential shade tree to the present day. It is rarely found inland except in cultivation, where it becomes semi-deciduous and slower growing than those that receive the moisture-laden winds of the coast. Adequate water is essential to maintaining this tree, though it is fairly drought-tolerant once established within its range. It is, however, quite susceptible to oak wilt where that is a problem, so treating surface wounds and avoiding damage to the roots is important. Though this is the best known live oak, there are a few North American live oak species also popular in residential landscaping, including on the West Coast, California Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia Née), and, in southern Oklahoma, central Texas, and northeastern Mexico, Escarpment Live Oak (Q. fusiformis Small), sometimes regarded as a mere variety of Q. virginiana but currently considered a distinct species. Escarpment live oak has slightly smaller leaves, broadest toward the base, and acorns with cups narrowed at the base (fusiform). It is more drought-tolerant than Q. virginiana and is commonly planted in drier parts of Texas. Both Q. virginiana and Q. fusiformis may send up dense shoots near or far from the trunk from rhizomes, sometimes so thickly that when mowed it looks like a groundcover.