Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
Genus: Quercus
Subgenus: Quercus
Section: Virentes (live oaks)
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Quercus virginiana
FAMILY
Fagaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read Edible Wild Plants: Oak from Lytton Musselman and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Learn more from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina website.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Quercus virginiana
FAMILY
Fagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Quercus virginiana
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 055-03-013:
Quercus virginiana FAMILY Fagaceae
INCLUDING (MISAPPLIED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Quercus geminata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Quercus virginiana
COMMON NAME:
Live Oak, Southern Live Oak
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p30a
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_309
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_quvi_001_lvd
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_1954742201523989
January Dare County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm150228_775
February Charleston County SC
The Angel Oak of Johns Island is said to be the oldest live oak in North America.
)
Keith Bradley kab_q_virginiana_05921
February Miami-Dade County FL
Krome Bird Refuge
Staminate flowers in pendulous catkins near base of current year's twig, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm080301_008b
March Charleston County SC
Santee Coastal Reserve
The acorns have so little tannin that they can be eaten off the tree, per Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995).
)
JK Marlow jkm080301_010
March Charleston County SC
Santee Coastal Reserve
Acorn cups turbinate or tapered conically, covering about 1/3 of nut, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm080301_011
March Charleston County SC
Santee Coastal Reserve
)
JK Marlow jkm080301_137
March Charleston County SC
Santee Coastal Reserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_q_virginiana_08841
April Miami-Dade County FL
)
JK Marlow jkm0505w_02
May Charleston County SC
The Battery
Bark thick, grayish dark brown, rough, deeply furrowed, with scaly ridges, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0505w_04
May Charleston County SC
The Battery
A large to medium-sized tree with wide low-spreading branches, per Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995).
)
Paul Thompson pstquercus_virginiana
September?
Leaf margins are thickened and rolled under. — Clemson Extension
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_476997124587272
December Georgetown County SC
)
Sam Pratt sbp_1629
December St. Johns County FL
Galls made by the tiny brushy gall wasp, Andricus quercusfoliatus. — Ron Lance
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Quercus virginiana
FAMILY
Fagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Quercus virginiana
FAMILY
Fagaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Quercus virginiana
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 055-03-013:
Quercus virginiana
FAMILY
Fagaceae
INCLUDING (MISAPPLIED)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Quercus geminata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Quercus virginiana
1203
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Locally common to abundant in maritime forests and maritime scrub on barrier islands, more rarely inland (though regularly on the mainland from se. NC south, and extending substantially inland from s. SC south), sometimes in dry, fire-maintained habitats more usually occupied by Q. geminata, also planted (especially in the outer Coastal Plain), per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate, 5-ranked
FLOWER:
Spring
Staminate calyx 2-8 lobed, pistillate calyx 6-lobed
Petals absent
3-12 stamens in staminate flowers
Unisexual
Staminate flowers in clustered drooping catkins
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Acorn
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p039
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p355
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p323
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p499
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p312
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p217
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p012
- Field Guide to Native Oak Species of Eastern North America (Stein, Binion, & Acciavatti, 2003) p104
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p197
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p208
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p086
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p282
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