Live oak
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Live oak is a common name for a number of unrelated oaks in several different sections of the genus Quercus that happen to share the character of evergreen foliage.
The name live oak comes from the fact that evergreen oaks are still green and "live" in winter, when other oaks are dormant, leafless and "dead"-looking. The name is used mainly in North America, where evergreen oaks are widespread in warmer areas, along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Florida, west along the Gulf Coast to Texas and across the southwest to California and southwest Oregon.
Evergreen oak species are also common in the warmer parts of Europe and Asia, and are included in this list for the sake of completeness. These species, although not having "live" in their common names in their countries of origin, are colloquially called live oaks when cultivated in North America.
When the term live oak is used in a specific rather than general sense, it most commonly refers to the Southern live oak (the first species so named), but can often refer to other species regionally.
In Texas, a small grove of live oaks (Texas live oak or Southern live oak) is known as a mott.
Evergreen species in genus Quercus
- Section Quercus. The white oaks. Europe, Asia, north Africa, North America. Styles short; acorns mature in 6 months, sweet or slightly bitter, inside of acorn shell hairless.
- Quercus arizonica - Arizona white oak - southwestern North America
- Quercus emoryi - Emory oak - southwestern North America
- Quercus fusiformis - Texas live oak - south central North America
- Quercus geminata - Sand live oak - southeastern North America
- Quercus ilex - Holm oak - southern Europe
- Quercus oblongifolia - Mexican blue oak - southwestern North America
- Quercus pungens - Sandpaper oak - south central North America
- Quercus turbinella - Shrub live oak - southwestern North America
- Quercus virginiana - Southern live oak - southeastern North America
- Section Cerris. Europe, Asia, north Africa. Styles long; acorns mature in 18 months, very bitter, inside of acorn shell hairless or slightly hairy.
- Quercus calliprinos - Palestine oak - western Asia
- Quercus coccifera - Kermes oak - southern Europe
- Quercus semecarpifolia - Himalayan oak - eastern Asia
- Quercus suber - Cork oak - southwestern Europe
- Section Protobalanus. Southwest USA & northwest Mexico. Styles short, acorns mature in 18 months, very bitter, inside of acorn shell woolly.
- Quercus chrysolepis - Canyon live oak - southwestern North America
- Quercus palmeri - Palmer oak - southwestern North America
- Quercus tomentella - Channel island oak - southwestern North America
- Quercus vacciniifolia - Huckleberry oak - southwestern North America
- Section Lobatae. The red oaks. North, Central & South America. Styles long, acorns mature in 18 months, very bitter, inside of acorn shell woolly.
- Quercus agrifolia - Coast live oak - southwestern North America
- Quercus canbyi - Canby oak - Mexico
- Quercus humboldtii - South American Oak - northern South America
- Quercus hypoleucoides - Silverleaf oak - southwestern North America
- Quercus polymorpha - Coahuila oak - Mexico
- Quercus rhysophylla - Loquat-leaf oak - Mexico
- Quercus wislizenii - Interior live oak - southwestern North America
See the list of Quercus species for a fuller listing of oaks including deciduous species.