Quercus geminata
Encyclopedia
Quercus geminata, commonly called Sand Live Oak, is an evergreen
oak
tree
that is native to parts of the coastal southeastern
United States
, along the Atlantic
Coast from Miami-Dade County, Florida
northward to southeastern Virginia and along the Gulf Coast
from Florida northward and westward to southern Mississippi, on seacoast dunes and on white sands in evergreen oak scrubs. The Sand Live Oak is also found in Cuba, where the Cuban Oak
, Q. cubana is purported to be a hybrid between the Sand Live Oak and Q. oleoides
.
A small- to medium-sized tree, the Sand Live Oak is scrubby and forms thickets. The bark is dark, thick, furrowed, and roughly ridged. The leaves are thick, leathery, and coarsely veined, with extremely revolute margins, giving them the appearance of inverted shallow bowls; their tops dark green, their bottoms dull gray and very tightly tomentose
, and their petiole
s densely pubescent, they are simple and typically flat with bony-opaque margins, having a length of 0.75–4.5 inches (2–12 cm) and a width of 0.2–1.5 inches (0.5–4 cm). The male flowers are green hanging catkin
s. The acorns are small, 0.5–1 inch (1–2.5 cm), oblong-ellipsoid or ovoid, and are commonly born in pairs on peduncle
s of varying lengths.
In coastal Florida
's evergreen oak scrub, the Sand Live Oak is a ubiquitous and abundant species; the threatened Florida Scrub-Jay is found only in Florida scrub
. Live oak
s, having characteristics of the Sand Live Oak and the Southern Live Oak (Q. virginiana), grow further inland. It is believed that these specimens are hybrids of Q. geminata and Q. virginiana.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/maritime/Quercge.htm "North Carolina Cooperative Extension – Quercus geminata"
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
that is native to parts of the coastal southeastern
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, along the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
Coast from Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
northward to southeastern Virginia and along the Gulf Coast
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
from Florida northward and westward to southern Mississippi, on seacoast dunes and on white sands in evergreen oak scrubs. The Sand Live Oak is also found in Cuba, where the Cuban Oak
Quercus cubana
Quercus cubana, the Cuban oak, is a medium sized evergreen tree native to Western Cuba in the Cuban pine forests ecoregion.Some authors believe it is a hybrid between sand live oak and Quercus oleoides rather than a true species....
, Q. cubana is purported to be a hybrid between the Sand Live Oak and Q. oleoides
Quercus oleoides
Quercus oleoides, with Spanish common names encina or encino, is a species of oak in the Fagaceae family. It grows in dry forests and pastureland of lowest North America and of Central America, from Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica to Tamaulipas, Mexico.Quercus oleoides is a slow-growing tree,...
.
A small- to medium-sized tree, the Sand Live Oak is scrubby and forms thickets. The bark is dark, thick, furrowed, and roughly ridged. The leaves are thick, leathery, and coarsely veined, with extremely revolute margins, giving them the appearance of inverted shallow bowls; their tops dark green, their bottoms dull gray and very tightly tomentose
Tomentose
Tomentose is a term used to describe plant hairs that are flattened and matted, forming a woolly coating known as tomentum. Often the hairs are silver or gray-colored...
, and their petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
s densely pubescent, they are simple and typically flat with bony-opaque margins, having a length of 0.75–4.5 inches (2–12 cm) and a width of 0.2–1.5 inches (0.5–4 cm). The male flowers are green hanging catkin
Catkin
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated but sometimes insect pollinated . They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem which is often drooping...
s. The acorns are small, 0.5–1 inch (1–2.5 cm), oblong-ellipsoid or ovoid, and are commonly born in pairs on peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
s of varying lengths.
In coastal Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
's evergreen oak scrub, the Sand Live Oak is a ubiquitous and abundant species; the threatened Florida Scrub-Jay is found only in Florida scrub
Florida scrub
Florida scrub is an endangered temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the state of Florida in the United States. It is found on coastal and inland sand ridges and is characterized by a xeromorphic plant community dominated by shrubs and dwarf oaks. Scrub soils, a type of entisol, are derived...
. Live oak
Live oak
Live oak , also known as the southern live oak, is a normally evergreen oak tree native to the southeastern United States...
s, having characteristics of the Sand Live Oak and the Southern Live Oak (Q. virginiana), grow further inland. It is believed that these specimens are hybrids of Q. geminata and Q. virginiana.
External links
Many close-up photographs are found at http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/quge.html "Duke University – Will Cook's Web Site"http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/maritime/Quercge.htm "North Carolina Cooperative Extension – Quercus geminata"