Live oak: the ultimate southerner - In Profile; includes "Trees Where History Gathered", www.historictrees.org - Column

American Forests, Autumn, 2003 by Jeff Ball

To think of live oaks is to envision the deep South. Over the years, the spreading branches of Quercus virginiana have symbolized southern culture in movies from Gone with the Wind to Forrest Gump.

A long-lived tree with a life measured in centuries, live oaks are native to the coastal South and can be seen growing in large yards, as specimen trees in parks, along streets, and overhanging the lanes of historic plantations. Georgia claims the live oak as its state tree.

The name derives from foliage that is evergreen through the winter months (except in its northernmost regions} when other deciduous trees stand bare. Given that it grows from the tidewaters of southern Virginia around the Gulf of Mexico to Texas, the live oak is able to tolerate salt spray better than most oaks.

Its wood is hard and strong, drying to a weight of 55 pounds per cubic foot, which puts it among the heaviest of any tree in North America. There is no better wood for fuel or charcoal cooking.

While the species now is used primarily as a landscape or street tree, during colonial times its hard wood made it ideal for the shipbuilding industry. In fact, the U.S. Navy procured large holdings of live oak forests for the exclusive use of government shipyards. The U.S.S. Constitution reportedly received its nickname, "Old Ironsides," during the War of 1812 because its live oak hull was so tough that British war ships' cannon balls literally bounced off it. Because the Constitution was built before shipbuilders learned to bend or steam wood into shape, the live oak's long, arching branches were used as "knees" or braces to connect the ship's hull to its deck floors. The ship was completely restored in the early 1990s, and live oak again was the material of choice in keeping with historical precedent.

Describe a live oak, and you'll probably use the word "massive." The trees grow on short, thick trunks, reaching a height of 40 to 60 feet at maturity. Want shade? The live oak is the broadest-spreading of all oaks. Its large canopy will typically spread to nearly twice its height, which means it can shade an area of more than 100 feet. The trunk can grow anywhere from 3 to more than 6 feet wide. The tree's wow factor lies in its width, rather than its height, with limbs that run horizontally and sometimes sweep the ground under the massive weight.

A moderately fast grower, the live oak adds 2 to 2-1/2 feet of height a year when young, slowing a bit as it ages. Before planting one, make sure you have plenty of space; this is not a tree for a small yard. On streets with no power lines, live oaks can be grown as street trees, but watch our for surface roots that can lift sidewalks as the tree matures.

The leaves actually will drop in the spring just as a new batch of leaves begin to emerge, all in about a two-week period. Individual

leaves can be from 1-1/4 to 3 inches long and up to an inch wide. Narrow and elongated with rounded tips, the leaves have smooth edges and a yellowish vein down the center. New yellowish-green leaves emerge in mid-spring, turning shiny dark green on top and grayish-green and hairy beneath with a leathery texture and oft-curling edges. The leaves serve as host for the larvae of two butterflies, the white hairstreak and the brown duskywing.

Live oaks produce male flowers called catkins that bloom in hanging clusters. Female flowers appear singly or in clusters of one to five where the leaves join the twigs. These give way over the growing season to fairly narrow acorns that are dark brown, almost black, and up to an inch long with caps that cover about a third of their length. Acorns grow either alone or in groups of 3 to 5 on the twigs. The sweet nut within the acorns is coveted by songbirds, ground birds, small mammals like squirrels and chipmunks, and even deer. It is a quick lunch, however, because these acorns will germinate fairly soon after they drop.

JUST HANGING ON

It is unusual to find a live oak that does not have many epiphytes or air plants living on it, especially resurrection fern or spanish moss, that lacy, romantic symbol of the South Spanish moss is an epiphyte, or tropical air plant, that requires another plant for mechanical support but not nutrients because it has its own system for producing food. The grayish-silver moss hangs in strands up to 20 feet long, turning greenish-silver after a lot of rain. It is also able to absorb moisture from dew, mist, and fog. Spanish moss is used mostly in decorating and flower arranging, although it once was used in furniture upholstering and for stuffing mattresses. Before bringing it into the house, be sure it's treated with an insect spray and allowed to air out and dry; it may he romantic, but it also has many little bugs and creepy crawlies that you don't want around you.

The resurrection fern is also an air plant. When the weather is dry the fern is gray, scaly, and curled up in wad. But given the moisture from a rainfall, the fronds turn soft and green and unfurl to regain their original shape, hence the name resurrection fern.