Quercus virginiana
By Martin (Mort) Schmidt
for Simply Living
I recently returned from a trip to the Southeastern U.S. and was enthralled with the majestic Live Oaks (Quercus virginiana), famous for their sweeping posture, great age, and incredible hardness.
There are other live oaks, so-called because they retain their leaves in winter. Texas Live Oak is variously described as either a variety of Q. virginiana, var. fusiformis or as a distinct species, Q. fusiformis. Either way, Live Oak and Texas Live Oak are in the White Oak group, because their acorns sprout soon after falling. But the California Live Oak (Q. agrifolia) is in the Red Oak group, because its acorns wait until spring to sprout, according to the USDA Plants Database.
Live Oaks have simple leaves – they do not occur in consistent groupings of 3, 5, 7, etc., and share a stem. Leaves and branches are alternately-arranged, and are not attached directly across from one another. The pinnately-veined, 1.5 -to 4-inch leaves are ovoid and shiny. Leaf margins are generally smooth, but can have several teeth. Live Oak leaves remain on the tree in winter, and do not show fall colors. Like most or all oaks, Live Oaks have multiple terminal buds, which can produce an additional crop of leaves if the existing leaves are lost or damaged before the end of the growing season.
Live Oak has separate male and female flowers on the same tree. The female flowers are inconspicuous, compared to the male flowers, which consist of long catkins that bloom in spring. Live oaks are monoecious, having male and female flowers on the same tree, whereas dioecious trees have male and female flowers on separate trees. Acorns from the White Oak group are generally low in tannins, and send out roots soon after falling to prevent being eaten. Acorns from the Red Oak group are higher in tannins, and wait until spring. The dark brown Live Oak acorns are ⅝ to 1 inch long and have a relatively deep cup. Q. virginiana also readily sprouts from the roots.
Quercus virginiana bark is dark and deeply furrowed, giving it a rugged, blocky or scaly appearance. Live Oak is known for its low branches, and it has an extensive root system with a deep tap root, making it highly wind-resistant, which is important for a tree that occupies the southeastern U.S. coast.
Mature Live Oaks typically have a height of 40 to 50 feet and a trunk diameter of approximately 2 to 4 feet. There are no Champion Live Oaks in Ohio, or likely, any at all, outside of a greenhouse. The largest Live Oak is the Seven Sisters Oak in Mandeville, Louisiana, which is 68 feet tall, 38.9 feet in diameter, with a crown width of 139 feet, according to the Louisiana Champion Tree Registry.
Q. virginiana is limited to the coastal areas of the southeastern U.S., and inland areas in Florida, Texas, and Mexico. It requires sandy soil and is limited to areas without prolonged periods of freezing. Not surprisingly, in view of its coastal habitat, Southern Live Oak is salt-tolerant.
Live Oak lumber is unusually hard, with a Janka hardness of 2,680 lbf and a density of 1.0 g/cc (too heavy to float!), according to the Wood Database, compared to the median of my list of 73 Ohio trees of 1,075 lbf and 0.64 g/cc. The wood is extremely hard and heavy, making it resistant to wear and breakage, but it also makes it hard to work with, especially with hand tools. Like most members of the White Oak group, Live Oak pores are filled with bubbly structures called “tyloses”. Tyloses prevent the flow of liquids, which is why White Oak lumber is chosen for wine and whiskey barrels. Tyloses also make the white oaks, including Live Oak, rot-resistant. But Live Oak differs from most other oaks, white and red, in lacking ring-porosity. Ring-porous woods, like ash, oak, and hickory have large pores aligned along the annual growth rings, while diffuse-porous woods, like maple, beech, and Live Oak have pores spread evenly through the wood.
Live Oak lumber is generally unavailable outside of its native range, but it has some use in furniture, trim, barrels, and flooring. Most lumber comes from tree trunks, and only vertical ones. Branches and trunks with a pronounced lean tend to warp after cutting, which pretty much limits their use to pulp, chips, and firewood. Southern Live Oak’s high density makes it somewhat resistant to burning, but once the fire starts, Live Oak burns exceptionally hot, as do most of the harder woods.
Historically, Southern Live Oak was valued for shipbuilding, especially for the frames of warships. In 1794, Congress directed George Washington to build six frigates, including the USS Constitution, aka Old Ironsides. In his subsequent progress report, Washington’s Secretary of War, Henry Knox wrote: “The frigates will be built of live oak and red cedar, in all parts where they can be used to advantage. These valuable woods afford the United States the highest advantages in building ships, the durability being estimated at five times that of the common white oak”. And so they were built, with Old Ironsides costing roughly three times over budget, according to Spike Carlsen’s A Splintered History of Wood. Nevertheless, the ships proved so successful that in 1828 the first national tree farm, the Naval Live Oak Reservation, was established near Pensacola, Florida. The U.S. federal government established a number of Naval Live Oak Reserves, but they lost their importance during the Civil War, with the advent of iron ships.
According to the Native American Ethnobotany Database, the American Indians used Live Oak in the following ways:
- Houma – Decoction of bark taken for dysentery. Roots and bark boiled to make a red basket dye,
- Mahuna – Bark blended with other oak barks and roots to make black, red, brown, gray, or yellow dye. Leaves used to make mattress bedding. Acorns made into porridge and eaten as a dessert,
- Seminole – Decoction of wood bits or bark applied externally as an analgesic. Acorns used as hog food. Plant used to make lye. Plant used to make mortars and pestles.
Live Oaks have very sweet acorns, and were once a significant food source for domesticated pigs. Oak galls were mixed with iron salts to make a permanent black ink, and such ink was used to write the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In fact, according to Simon Wills’ A History of Trees, most documents were written with oak-gall ink until the beginning of the 20th century. Oak galls, historically called “oak apples”, are often mistaken for fruits.
Southern Live Oak acorns are eaten by deer, squirrels, and other mammals, and by birds, especially blue jays. But there’s something in it for the oaks, too. Lives of the Trees, by Diana Wells, says that, “Most wild oak trees are planted by jays or squirrels, which relish the acorns, but bury a lot for future use and then forget to retrieve some of them”. Some animals no doubt forget, but with their limited life spans, many others probably don’t live long enough to consume their buried feast. Some insects consume the leaves, including the butterflies red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis), Horace’s duskywing (Erynnis horatius), and the Juvenal’s duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis).
A plant that depends heavily on Live Oak and other trees is Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides). Mature Live Oaks are nearly always festooned with Spanish moss. But neither Spanish nor moss, this mass of tangled growth is more closely related to pineapple. Unlike mistletoe, Spanish moss does not draw nutrients from trees, but uses them only for support. In the early days of automobiles, Spanish moss was used as stuffing for car seats.
Southern Live Oak is the State Tree of Georgia.
Acorns (though not Live Oak acorns) were once also an important source of food for domesticated pigs in England. But in the 13th century, the king forbade pigs from foraging on royal property. This, together with many other grievances, led the barons to develop the Magna Carta, establishing the idea that even the king had to live within the law. In the year 1215, King John signed the Magna Carta (using oak-gall ink!), which stated, “Every free man shall allow his pigs to feed in the forest. We grant also that every free man can move his pigs through our royal forest freely to allow them to feed in his own woods or anywhere else he wishes”.
Oaks, generally, tend to be struck by lightning, perhaps because of their rugged bark. An ancient saying goes, “Beware the oak, it draws the stroke”. Thus, Thor, the Norse god of thunder came to be associated with oaks. Of course none of the history and legends that originated in Europe involved Quercus virginiana, but they did involve oaks from the White Oak group. Interestingly, the Red Oak group evolved in North America, after its separation from Europe in the Cretaceous (around the time of the dinosaur extinction). Thus, red oaks are generally limited to North and Central America.
One Live Oak is claimed to be the World’s Largest Living Christmas Tree. This tree, located in Wilmington, North Carolina, has been illuminated every Christmas since 1928.
You’re bound to encounter Live Oaks if you travel to the coastal Southeast. Many of them have interesting names and histories, so make a point to seek some out.
You can also listen to my talks on Ohio Broadleaf Tree Identification on YouTube, Part 1 and Part 2.
