Georgia State Tree

Georgia State Tree

Southern Live Oak 

 Fagaceae Quercus virginiana Georgia Southern Live Oak

Leaf

Alternate, simple, evergreen, leathery, 2 to 5 inches long, oblong or
elliptical in shape with an entire or spiny and revolute margin. The upper surface is lustrous, the lower is pale and pubescent. Generally, not bristle-tipped.

Flower

Staminate flowers borne on catkins. Pistillate flowers borne on spikes.
Appearing March through May.

Fruit

Acorns are in clusters of 3 to 5, maturing in one season. The nut is
dark in color, 3/4 inch long and covered 1/3 by the cap. The cap is bowl-shaped and warty, termed “turbinate” by Harlow et al. Maturing in September of the
first year.

Twig

Slender, gray and pubescent, with small, blunt, multiple terminal buds.

Bark

Rapidly developing red-brown furrows with small surface scales. Later,
becoming black and very blocky.

Form

A medium-sized tree that can grow to massive proportions. Open-grown trees develop a huge rounded crown. The largest crowns may be 150 feet across.

Georgia Southern Live Oak/div> 

Copyright 2019 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental
Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen,
Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson;Silvics reprinted from Ag
Handbook 654; range map source information