Trees of Alabama and the Southeast Home Page

Leaves are simple, alternate, leathery and evergreen with a sharp bristle tip on the apex and an occasional sharp tooth on the margin.  Bark is thick, red-brown to brown-black, and grooved.  Twigs are gray and pubescent, often with Spanish moss drooping from the limbs.  Buds are round, and light brown.  Fruit is an acorn 1 inch long with a dark brown shiny nut and a long-stalked, thin, bowl-shaped cap, maturing in one season.  Live oak is found in the southeastern Coastal Plain on sandy and often wet sites.  The wood was once used for building ships.  Often planted as ornamental.  Acorns eaten by game birds, deer, and many small mammals.

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All text and photographs are intended for educational purposes only and are not for commercial use in any form.  All photographs are copyrighted by the named photographer(s), text copyright by Lisa Samuelson. © 2005, all rights reserved. Photographs by Mike Hogan.