Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

s in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to other oaks. When the term live oak is used in a specific rather than general sense, it most commonly refers to the group of species under ''Quercus'' sect. ''Virentes'', which includes the southern live oak (''Quercus virginiana''), the first species so named, and an icon of the Old South. The name ''live oak'' comes from the fact that evergreen oaks remain green and "live" throughout winter, when other oaks are dormant and leafless. The name is used mainly in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, where evergreen oaks are widespread in warmer areas along the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast from southeast

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, west along the Gulf Coast to

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and across the southwest to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Evergreen oak species are also common in parts of

southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

and south

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and are included in this list for the sake of completeness. These species, although not having "live" in their common names in their countries of origin, are colloquially called live oaks when cultivated in North America. According to the Live Oak Society the oldest southern live oak is believed to be the Seven Sisters Oak located in Mandeville, Louisiana with an estimated age of 500–1,000 years. The southern live oak is the official state tree of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

(U.S. state). The

Seal of Texas The Seal of the State of Texas was adopted through the 1845 Texas Constitution, and was based on the seal of the Republic of Texas, which dates from January 25, 1839. Design The official artwork, drawn by Juan Vega of Round Rock, Texas, was a ...

includes a live oak branch. A small grove of live oaks on a prairie is known as a mott. Walt Whitman writes in his poem "I saw in Louisiana a live-oak growing" of a twig taken from a solitary live-oak as a token that makes him think of manly love.

Wood and lumber

Live oak was widely used in early American

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

. Because of the trees' short height and low-hanging branches, lumber from live oaks was used in curved parts of the frame, such as knee braces (single-piece, L-shaped braces that spring inward from the side and support the deck), in which the grain runs perpendicular to structural stress, making for exceptional strength. ''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 Live oaks were not generally used for planking because the curved and often convoluted shape of the tree did not lend itself to being milled to planking of any length. "The world's oldest floating ship, the

USS Constitution USS ''Constitution'', also known as ''Old Ironsides'', is a Full-rigged ship, three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She is the world's List of oldest surviving ships, oldest commissioned naval warship still afloat ...

, launched in 1797, got its nickname "Old Ironsides" during the War of 1812 after its hull, made in part of live oak, proved equal to the fearsome cannons of the British". Loggers had cut down most of the live oak trees in southern Europe by the latter half of the 19th century. Live oak timber from the United States was similarly sought and exported until metal-hulled commercial vessels became the norm in the early part of the 20th century. Live oak lumber is rarely used for furniture, because it warps and twists while drying. The wood of live oaks continues to be used occasionally in shipbuilding—and in tool handles for its strength, energy absorption, and density, although modern composites are often substituted with good effect. Dry Southern live oak lumber has a

specific gravity Relative density, also called specific gravity, is a dimensionless quantity defined as the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for solids and liquids is nea ...

of 0.88, among the highest of North American hardwoods.

List of evergreen species in genus ''Quercus''

*Section ''Quercus''. The white oaks – Europe, Asia, North Africa, North America, styles short; acorns mature in six months, sweet or slightly bitter, inside of acorn shell is hairless **'' Quercus arizonica'' – Arizona white oak – southwestern North America **'' Quercus fusiformis'' – (also ''Quercus virginiana var. fusiformis'') Texas live oak – south central North America **'' Quercus geminata'' – sand live oak – southeastern North America **'' Quercus greggii'' – Gregg oak – Mexico **'' Quercus hinckleyi'' – Hinckley oak – Texas **'' Quercus ilex'' – Holm oak – southern Europe **'' Quercus minima'' – dwarf live oak – southeastern North America **'' Quercus oblongifolia'' – Mexican blue oak – southwestern North America **'' Quercus polymorpha'' – Mexican white oak or Monterrey oak – Mexico **'' Quercus pungens'' – sandpaper oak – south central North America **'' Quercus rotundifolia'' − holm oak − southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa **'' Quercus turbinella'' – shrub live oak – southwestern North America **''

Quercus virginiana ''Quercus virginiana'', also known as the southern live oak, is an evergreen oak tree endemic to the Southeastern United States. Though many other species are loosely called live oak, the southern live oak is particularly iconic of the Old South. ...

'' – southern live oak – southeastern North America *Section ''Cerris''. Europe, Asia, north Africa. Styles long; acorns mature in 18 months, very bitter, inside of acorn shell is hairless or slightly hairy **'' Quercus calliprinos'' – Palestine oak – western Asia **''

Quercus coccifera ''Quercus coccifera'', the kermes oak or commonly known as Palestine oak, is an oak shrub or tree in section '' Ilex'' of the genus. It has many synonyms, including ''Quercus calliprinos''. It is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern ...

'' – Kermes oak – southern Europe **'' Quercus semecarpifolia'' – Himalayan oak – eastern Asia **'' Quercus suber'' – Cork oak – southwestern Europe *Section ''Protobalanus'' – Southwest US, California coastal ranges and northwest Mexico, styles short, acorns mature in 18 months, very bitter, inside of acorn shell is woolly **'' Quercus cedrosensis'' — Cedros Island oak — Baja California **'' Quercus chrysolepis'' – canyon live oak – southwestern North America, especially coastal ranges of California **'' Quercus palmeri'' – Palmer oak – southwestern North America **'' Quercus tomentella'' – Channel Island oak –

Channel Islands of California The Channel Islands () are an eight-island archipelago located within the Southern California Bight in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. They define the Santa Barbara Channel between the islands and the California mainland. The ...

**'' Quercus vacciniifolia'' – huckleberry oak – California and southwestern North America *Section ''Lobatae''. The red oaks – North, Central and South America, styles long, acorns mature in 18 months, very bitter, inside of acorn shell is woolly **'' Quercus agrifolia'' – coast live and sharpacorn oaks – California and Mexico **'' Quercus canbyi'' – Canby oak – Mexico **''

Quercus emoryi ''Quercus emoryi'', the Emory oak, is a species of oak common in Arizona (including inside Saguaro National Park), New Mexico and western Texas (including inside Big Bend National Park), United States, and northern Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua (sta ...

'' – Emory oak – southwestern North America **'' Quercus hemisphaerica'' – laurel oak – southeastern North America **'' Quercus humboldtii'' – South American oak – northern South America **'' Quercus laurifolia'' – swamp laurel oak – southeastern U.S. **'' Quercus hypoleucoides'' – silverleaf oak – southwestern North America **'' Quercus parvula'' – Santa Cruz Island and Shreve oaks – California **'' Quercus rysophylla'' – loquat leaf oak – Mexico **'' Quercus wislizeni'' – interior live oak – California and Mexico ---- *See the

list of Quercus species The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 known species, plus about 180 hybrids between them. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the tw ...

for a fuller listing of oaks, including

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

species.

References

External links

Images of remarkable Southern Live Oaks

The 1000 Year Old "Big Tree" – Goose Island State Park (Texas)

Live Oak in California

The William Adkins' Live Oak Tree
historical marker {{DEFAULTSORT:Live Oak Quercus L