Live Oak: Pillars of a Nation
University Outreach Publication
Live oak (Quercus virginiana) can be a massive tree of the Southern coastal plain. Live oak is also a mature small tree growing on sand ridges near the ocean. Live oak as a species is represented by a diverse set of individual traits and a number of varieties and hybrids. Live oaks were the focus of the nation’s first publically owned timber reserves for building naval vessels. The largest trees were valuable to sailing ship builders because of their branch shapes and wood strength. Live oaks were also the first tree to suffer forest-wide timber thief and old growth decimation in North America. Live oak has served humans and animals as food, fuel, lumber, chemicals, and shade. Live oak is symbolic of history, survival, struggle, and romance. Today live oak represents both an ecological and a cultural heritage. The mystic feelings and grandeur of the Spanish moss-draped, monestrous live oak is a emblem of both the old and new South. Live oak was selected to represent the State of Georgia as its state tree. This publication looks at the scientific basis for the tree called "live oak."
(FOR03-22) November 2003
Kim D. Coder
June 2004
School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia
Athens, GA
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Growth, Health (tree), Identification, Landscape Ecology, Maintenance Specifications, Selection (tree), Silvics, Silviculture
National
Live oak, Quercus virginiana
