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Escarpment Live Oak

Quercus fusiformis

Other common name(s):

Plateau Live Oak, Hill Country Live Oak, Texas Live Oak, Scrub Live Oak, Plateau Oak, Encino Molino, Tesmoli

Family:

Fagaceae (Beech Family)

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Central Great Plains, Chihuahuan Deserts, Cross Timbers, East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, Southern Texas Plains, Texas Blackland Prairies, Western Gulf Coastal Plain
Broken Red Plains, Limestone Plains
Chihuahuan Basins and Playas, Stockton Plateau
Eastern Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, Limestone Cut Plain, Western Cross Timbers
Bastrop Lost Pines, Floodplains and Low Terraces2, San Antonio Prairie, Southern Post Oak Savanna
Balcones Canyonlands, Edwards Plateau Woodland, Llano Uplift, Semiarid Edwards Plateau
Coastal Sand Plain, Laguna Madre Barrier Island and Coastal Marshes, Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Southern Subhumid Gulf Coastal Prairies
Northern Nueces Alluvial Plains, Semiarid Edwards Bajada, Texas-Tamaulipan Thornscrub
Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Tree

Height

20
to
60
ft.

Spread

10
to
40
ft.

Leaf Retention

Evergreen

Lifespan

Perennial

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Calcareous, Shallow

Light Requirement

Sun

Water Requirement

Very Low, Low

Native Habitat

Woodland

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

Yellow

Bloom Season

Spring

Seasonal Interest

Nuts, Larval Host

Wildlife Benefit

Butterflies, Birds

Maintenance

Prune only during hottest and coldest months; paint all pruning wounds immediately after cutting to prevent oak wilt. Prune if needed to raise canopy for walkways. Propagation: Seed.

Comments

Oak wilt susceptible; provide large open space; evergreen but sheds leaves in spring as new leaves emerge; high wildlife value. Escarpment Live Oak is very drought tolerant. Larval host for Hairstreak and Horace’s Duskywing butterflies.
Previous Scientific Name(s): Synonym/s: Quercus virginiana var. fusiformis

References

1) Miller, George O., Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas 2nd Ed., 2013, pg 48. 2) Wasowski and Wasowski, Native Texas Plants Landscaping Region by Region, 1991, pg. 340. 3) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=QUFU. 4) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Quercus+fusiformis&formsubmit=Search+Terms. 5) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=12084&locationType=County&mapType=Normal. 6) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=195175#null

Get in Touch

Contact the State

Contact a local Chapter

State Office Phone: 830.997.9272

State Office Address:
Native Plant Society of Texas
PO Box 3017
Fredericksburg, TX 78624

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