Live oak
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Live oak is a general term for a number of unrelated oaks in several different sections of the genus
Quercus, that happen to share the character of
evergreen foliage. It is also the usual common name for the
Southern live oak Quercus virginiana, which is one such evergreen
species.
The name live oak comes from the fact that evergreen oaks are still green and "live" in winter, when other oaks are dormant, leafless and "dead"-looking. The name is used mainly in North America, where evergreen oaks are widespread in warmer areas along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Florida, west along the Gulf Coast to Texas and across the southwest to California and southwest Oregon.
Evergreen oak species are also common in the warmer parts of Europe and Asia, 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.
See the list of Quercus species for a fuller listing of oaks including deciduous species.
Evergreen species in genus Quercus
- Section Quercus. The white oaks. Europe, Asia, north Africa, North America. Styles short; acorns mature in 6 months, sweet or slightly bitter, inside of acorn shell hairless.
- Quercus arizonica - Arizona white oak - western North America
- Quercus emoryi - Emory oak - western North America
- Quercus ilex - Holm oak - Europe
- Quercus oblongifolia - Mexican blue oak - western North America
- Quercus turbinella - Shrub live oak - western North America
- Quercus virginiana - Southern live oak - eastern North America
- Section Cerris. Europe, Asia, north Africa. Styles long; acorns mature in 18 months, very bitter, inside of acorn shell hairless or slightly hairy.
- Quercus calliprinos - Palestine oak - western Asia
- Quercus coccifera - Kermes oak - Europe
- Quercus semecarpifolia - Himalayan oak - eastern Asia
- Quercus suber - Cork oak - Europe
- Section Protobalanus. Southwest USA & northwest Mexico. Styles short, acorns mature in 18 months, very bitter, inside of acorn shell woolly.
- Quercus chrysolepis - Canyon live oak - western North America
- Quercus palmeri - Palmer oak - western North America
- Quercus tomentella - Channel island oak - western North America
- Quercus vacciniifolia - Huckleberry oak - western North America
- Section Lobatae. The red oaks. North, Central & South America. Styles long, acorns mature in 18 months, very bitter, inside of acorn shell woolly.
- Quercus agrifolia - California live oak - western North America
- Quercus canbyi - Canby oak - Mexico
- Quercus humboldtii - South American Oak - northern South America
- Quercus hypoleucoides - Silverleaf oak - western North America
- Quercus polymorpha - Coahuila oak - Mexico
- Quercus rhysophylla - Loquat-leaf oak - Mexico
- Quercus wislizenii - Interior live oak - western North America
