Flowering Trees & Shrubs Codexery

Quercus virginiana

Iconic southern oak with massive canopy and hurricane resistance.

Last updated

It is particularly iconic of the Old South, though many other species are also called live oak.[1] Georgia (U.S. state) made the southern live oak its official state tree in 1937.[2]

Scientific classification

  1. CladeTracheophytes
  2. CladeAngiosperms
  3. CladeEudicots
  4. CladeRosids
  5. OrderFagales
  6. FamilyFagaceae
  7. GenusQuercus
  8. GenusQuercus
  9. SpeciesQuercus virginiana

Named by Mill.

Close relatives

Other species of Quercus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Quercus virginiana (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2015

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

Where the quercus virginiana has been recorded

Where the quercus virginiana has been recorded19 mapped locations from 9,902 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (9,902 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 190 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)

Biology and range

The southern live oak is placed in section Virentes of the genus Quercus.[3] The leaves are stiff, leathery, shiny dark green on top, and pale gray and tomentose underneath.[4] Acorns are small, oblong, shiny, and tan-brown to nearly black, borne singly or in clusters.[4] The tree has a deep taproot and an extensive root system, making it extremely resistant to hurricane-strength winds.[5][6]

The species grows in acidic soils with pH between 5.5 and 6.5, and requires good soil drainage for sustained growth.[7] Longitudinal furrows characterize the tree's dark, thick bark.[4] Hanging green catkins, which are the male flowers, measure between 3 and 4 inches in length.[4] Because live oaks shed their foliage right before spring's new leaf growth appears, they are not classified as true evergreens.[8]

This species occupies higher-elevation sites, maritime forests, and hammocks situated within marshes and swamps.[7]

What the specialist sources record

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension notes that oak wilt symptoms are most often observed in summer, not winter.[9] The Virginia Tech Landowner Fact Sheets describe live oak as an evergreen occurring along the Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains.[10] The same source states that live oak wood is hard, heavy, and very strong, and was historically preferred for ship framework timbers.[11] The U.S. Navy still possesses extensive live oak tracts, and the wood's density enabled the ship constructed from it to withstand cannon fire, earning the nickname "Old Ironsides".[11]

Important food sources from live oak acorns include bobwhite quail, Florida scrub jay, wood duck, yellow-bellied sapsucker, wild turkey, black bear, squirrels, and white-tailed deer.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Quercus virginiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Goldman, "Plant Guide for live oak", Plant Guide for live oak (USDA PLANTS Database), 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Quercus virginiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "52 Georgia Facts", Meet The USA, 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Quercus virginiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Denk, "Appendix 2.1: An updated infrageneric classification of the oaks", figshare, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Quercus virginiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Nelson, "The Trees of Florida: A Reference and Field Guide", Pineapple Press, 1994, p. 84; Kurz, "Trees of Northern Florida", University Press of Florida, 1962, p. 103–104 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Quercus virginiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Selecting Tropical and Subtropical Tree Species For Wind Resistance", University of Florida IFAS Extension (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. "Selecting Tropical and Subtropical Tree Species For Wind Resistance", University of Florida IFAS Extension. facts only, no text reused. edis.ifas.ufl.edu
  7. Wikipedia, "Quercus virginiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "ArcGIS Web Application", www.arcgis.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Quercus virginiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Live oak dropping leaves in early spring", Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, 2010-09-08; Kurz, "Trees of Northern Florida", University Press of Florida, 1962, p. 103–104 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "Live oak dropping leaves in early spring", Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, 2010-09-08. facts only, no text reused. plantclinic.tamu.edu
  10. "Landowner Fact Sheets – live oak Quercus virginiana", Virginia Tech Dendrology. facts only, no text reused. dendro.cnre.vt.edu
  11. Wikipedia, "Quercus virginiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Steadfast Majestic and sturdy the live oak tree has offered protection time and again Smithsonian magazine April/May 2023 issue Pages 17–19 by Shannon Sims; "Landowner Fact Sheets – live oak Quercus virginiana", Virginia Tech Dendrology (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Quercus virginiana" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Some Reflections on the Florida of Long Ago", Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida, 1946, p. 42 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Quercus virginiana (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

Oak

More in Flowering Trees & Shrubs

PolylepisMagnoliaMagnoliaceaeMagnoliidsNothofagusNothofagus fuscaNothofagus menziesiiPopulusPopulus tremulaPopulus tremuloidesPopulus trichocarpaQuercus acutissima

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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