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Native Plant Society of Texas

Live Oak

Quercus virginiana

Other common name(s):

Southern Live Oak

Family:

Fagaceae (Beech Family)

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

This map uses data from the US EPA. EPA  servers have been offline frequently so maps may not display. We are working on a solution.

Cross Timbers, East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, Texas Blackland Prairies, Western Gulf Coastal Plain
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
Coastal Sand Plain, Floodplains and Low Terraces4, Laguna Madre Barrier Island and Coastal Marshes, Lower Rio Grande Alluvial Floodplain, Lower Rio Grande Valley, Mid-Coast Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes, Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Southern Subhumid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Texas-Louisiana Coastal Marshes
Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie
Flatwoods, Floodplains and Low Terraces3, Southern Tertiary Uplands

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Tree

Height

40
to
50
ft.

Spread

60
to
100
ft.

Leaf Retention

Semi Evergreen

Lifespan

Perennial

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Clay, Loam, Poor Drainage, Sand

Light Requirement

Sun

Water Requirement

Medium

Native Habitat

Woodland

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

Yellow

Bloom Season

Spring

Seasonal Interest

Larval Host, Nuts

Wildlife Benefit

Birds, Butterflies, Small Mammals

Maintenance

Fast growth rate when young, slowing with age. A large, long-lived tree, popular in residential areas throughout the state. Provide large open space. Adequate water is needed for a newly planted tree, but it is fairly drought tolerant once established within its range. May send up dense shoots near the trunk, sometimes so thickly that when mowed it looks like a groundcover. Briefly drops leaves in spring then immediately replaces them. Saline tolerant and tolerant of compaction. It is in the red oak group and therefore more susceptible to oak wilt. Prune only during the hottest and coldest months. Paint pruning wounds to help prevent oak wilt. Native habitat: sandy, coastal plains, and moist hammocks.

Description

Blooms March-May. Live oak is a massive, wide-spreading tree with thick horizontal branches that sometimes rest on the ground. Leaves are oblong, leathery, with a dark green, shiny upper surface and a pale, silvery white underside. They are 1-3 toothed on each side and the margins are often slightly rolled toward the underside. Tiny flowers are arranged on a catkin. The fruit is a solitary or paired acorn, requiring one year to mature. Larval host: Horace’s Duskywing, White Hairstreak, Northern Hairstreak.

References

1) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). Ecoregions of Texas. 2) Miller, George O., Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas 2nd Ed., 2013, pg 48. 3) Wasowski and Wasowski, Native Texas Plants Landscaping Region by Region, 1991, pg. 345, 4) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=QUVI. 5) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Quercus+virginiana&formsubmit=Search+Terms. 6) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=12064&locationType=County&mapType=Normal. 7) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=19283#null, 8) Native and Adapted Landscape Plants, City of Austin and Texas A&M, 2014., 9) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_virginiana#:~:text=The%20leaves%20are%20stiff%20and,2%20in)%2C%20borne%20alternately., 10) http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/TreeDetails/?id=109#:~:text=Leaf:,Bark:

Learn about how to propagate Texas native plants.

Material Treatment Method Collection References
Seed No Treatment Best if sown immediately as acorns lose viability quickly in storage. Plant immediately outdoors, with pointed end facing down, or in deep containers to accommodate long initial taproot. Time of year to collect seed: Autumn, Time of year to sow seed: Summer, Seed treatment: none, Time required for germination: 3-5 weeks, Comment: Mulched beds. Wire screens against rodents. Best quality acorns are picked or shaken from the tree. Collect when color has changed to brown. 1) https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/lppi/sp319.shtml#:~:text=Time%20of%20year%20to%20graft,Scions%20should%20be%20pencil%20size. 2) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=QUVI 3) https://www.gardenia.net/plant/quercus-virginiana
Semi-harwood Cutting Cutting type: stem tip. Time of year to take cuttings: Summer. Cutting maturity: semi-hardwood Rooting hormone: IBA TALC 16000 PPM. Rooting environment: intermittent mist, Soil temperature for best rooting: 70-80 degrees F. Time to rooting: 10-12 weeks. Comment: Juvenile cuttings should be pencil size. 1) https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/lppi/sp319.shtml#:~:text=Time%20of%20year%20to%20graft,Scions%20should%20be%20pencil%20size. 2) https://www.gardenia.net/plant/quercus-virginiana
Root Cutting Dip cuttings briefly in 1,250, 2,500, 5,000 or 10,000 parts per million (ppm) IBA solution containing 50 percent ethyl alcohol. These cuttings were rooted in a mist propagation bed in a mix of three parts perlite to 1 part peat (by volume). Those dipped in 10,000 ppm IBA had 100 percent rooting in 40 days. All cuttings treated with 2,500 or 5,000 ppm IBA rooted in 70 days, whereas those treated with 1,250 ppm IBA required 100 days to reach completed rooting. Plant rooted cuttings in No. 1 pots two months after cuttings are collected. Collect 8inch-long tip cuttings of rhizomic shoots in April. 1) https://agrilife.org/elpaso/files/2011/10/Cloning-live-oak.pdf 2) https://www.gardenia.net/plant/quercus-virginiana

About the Region

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This low-elevations region of Texas extends inland from the barrier islands, about 60 or so miles, and stretches from Brownsville to Louisiana. In total, it covers about 9.5 million acres, with a high point of 150 feet in elevation. More than 1000 species of plants can be found in this region. On the southern end, species more common in Mexico (such as Sabal mexicana) and Central America occur.

The barrier islands provide us with dune systems, and clay flats to the inland side, which have species found in these areas alone. Many plants here, such as Ipomoea pes-caprae (beach morning glory), can be found throughout tropical regions of the globe. I’ve encountered the same species on the beaches of Guam.

Once inland, vast marshes and wet prairies occur. Occasionally, oak (Quercus fusiformis) groves can be found. Common grasses include species of Bothriochloa, Paspalum, and Sporobolus; eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides); and switchgrass (Panicum species). Many rivers and creeks cut through the Gulf Prairies, and along these riparian areas various species of trees, Sabal minor, and other plants adapted to clay soils can be found. Due to overgrazing, farming, and fire suppression, woody species such as mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and huisache (Acacia farnesiana), and invasive species such as chinaberry (Melia azedarach), Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), and Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum) have increased and displaced our native flora.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason