Southern Oak Tree

The Southern Live Oak's dark-green leaves are ¾ to 1¾ inches wide and 2 to 4½ inches long, are obovate in shape, and have smooth edges. They are rather leathery, are glossy on the upper side, and are covered with minute gray hairs on the undersides.

What is southern live oak good for?

Common Uses: Cabinetry, furniture, interior trim, flooring, boatbuilding, barrels, and veneer. Comments: Live Oak shares many of the same traits as White Oak (Quercus alba), though it is diffuse porous and readily separable from white oaks on the basis of anatomy.

How fast does a southern live oak grow?

Growth Rate This tree grows at a medium rate, with height increases of 13–24" per year.

Is southern live oak a hardwood?

Dry Southern live oak lumber has a specific gravity of 0.88, among the highest of North American hardwoods.

How do you identify Southern live oak?

Live oak has distinctive spreading, gnarled branches that grow horizontally, creating a rounded crown. Live oak tree identification is also by its leathery, lance-shaped, pointed leaves, dark-brown furrowed bark, and characteristic black acorns with a scaly cap.

What is the prettiest type of oak tree?

What Is The Prettiest Oak Tree?

• Scarlet Oak Tree– this is an excellent shade tree that is rather attractive to all sorts of wildlife thanks to all its foliage.
• Red Oak Tree– a highly adaptable variety that combines beauty and stability, as it can live over 500 years (about 200 years longer than many other oaks.)

What is the most desirable oak tree?

5 Best Oak Trees for Your Yard

• Oak Varieties and Characteristics. Oaks are monoecious trees.
• Nuttall Oak. The Nuttall oak tree is known for being well adapted for general landscape use. ...
• Japanese Evergreen Oak. ...
• Northern Red Oak. ...
• Pin Oak. ...
• Water Oak.

Can you eat acorns from Southern live oak?

All oaks produce acorns - in most years, if not all - and all acorns are edible. Yes, all acorns are edible.

What is the difference between Texas live oak and Southern live oak?

The Texas live oak is nearly identical to the southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) but is more drought tolerant and cold hardy. Its range is southern Oklahoma, through Texas between the Brazos and Pecos rivers, into the northeastern mountains of Mexico.

How tall will an oak tree grow in 10 years?

Grows 12'-15' over a 10 to 12 year period, reaching 80 feet or so. Fall color is brown to rich red. Superior shade tree. White Oak acorns are a preferred food source for many mammals and larger birds.

What is the easiest oak tree to grow?

Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) A speedy grower, the Northern Red Oak is known to grow over two feet annually for the first 10 years of its lifespan, and tolerates compacted soil, and pollution. Northern Red Oaks are somewhat drought tolerant as well, and they require a minimum of six hours of sunlight per day.

How far should I plant a live oak tree from my house?

An oak tree should be planted 20 feet away from the house. At this distance, your house will be free of excessive leaf drops as a result of extended branches in your building, and you will enjoy the breeze from an ideal distance. The roots of the oak tree would also be distant from the foundation of the main building.

How big is a 100 year old live oak?

Stephens estimated that an oak with a girth of 17 feet or more (the Live Oak Society today says 16 ft.) should be at least 100 years of age.

Can you cook with Southern live oak?

Live oak is a hardwood and therefore very dense. It transfers the best type of heat for cooking as it packs more BTUs of potential heat energy per volume of firewood. Oak is great for its slow-burning characteristics as well as its small flame.

Is Southern live oak good firewood?

Back to the question at hand: Yes, oak trees make excellent firewood. One of the many reasons why oak is ideal for firewood is because it's easy to split. While there are hundreds of species, all oak trees have a straight grain that makes them easy to split.

What are Southern oak trees called?

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.

What is the difference between Northern and Southern red oak?

They can overlap somewhat in habitat, although northern red oak prefers richer woods whereas southern red oak prefers more open woodlands and drier, sandier soils.

What is the rarest oak tree?

The Mesa, sometimes called Engelman oak, is a single trunk evergreen tree native to slopes, foothills and woodlands below 4200 feet. The rarest oak, due to urban sprawl and climate changes, makes protection of this species a priority. Mesa oaks can reach heights from 15—45 feet with a 55 foot spread.

Which oak tree Do deer prefer?

Deer prefer to feed on the oak species which have the greatest amount of protein and are easiest to digest, including valley, black, blue, scrub, and live oaks. Oak leaves and twigs (browse) are very important from spring to fall, especially in early spring when the new growth is emerging.

Which oak is the most disease resistant?

“Post oak may be the most resistant while Lacey oak and bur oak are the least.” “Post oak tends to be the most resistant of the group while bur oak is the most sensitive… Whereas in the red oak group the disease may kill the tree in a few weeks, in the white oak group it may take several years.