Southern live oak

Quercus virginiana Mill.

light
Sun–part
water
Medium
tall
18 m
wide
20 m

Fagaceae

Also called Live oak, Southern Live Oak, Virginia Live Oak

Formerly Dryopsila virens, Quercus andromeda, Quercus virens

When it flowers

Not known yet in the tropics: too few flowering observations to read a season from.

Read from iNaturalist photographs of it in flower. A month counts at 50% of the best month's flowering share (smoothed over three months) and 10% of its flowering count, from at least 100 flowering observations in the band.

PetsNC State Extension lists it as toxic to horses (25 Oct 2026)
PeopleNC State Extension lists it as mildly poisonous (leaves, seeds) (25 Oct 2026)

If a child, a pet or anyone may have eaten a plant, contact a doctor or vet straight away, or call the National Poisons Information Centre (AIIMS, New Delhi) on 1800 116 117, free and open 24 hours.

Something wrong with it?

About it

Grows as
TreeKew's checklist, not yet checked
Climate
SubtropicalKew's checklist, not yet checked
Wild in
SE. & SC. U.S.A.Kew's checklist, not yet checked
Light
Full sun to part shade (3 h or more)Read from NC State Extension, one source
Height
12 m to 24 mRead from NC State Extension, one source
Spread
9.1 m to 30 mRead from NC State Extension, one source
Water
Average: moist, well drainedRead from NC State Extension, one source
Flowers
Yellow, greenRead from NC State Extension, one source
Coldest it survives
-12.2 °C (USDA zone 8a)Read from NC State Extension, one source

Not known yet: heat, hottest it survives.

In other languages (12)

Spanish
Encino
French
chêne de Virginie
Chinese (China)
弗吉尼亚栎
Chinese
維吉尼亞櫟, 弗吉尼亚栎
German
Virginia-Eiche, Lebens-Eiche
Russian
Дуб виргинский
Lithuanian
Virgininis ąžuolas
Polish
dąb wirginijski
Hebrew
אלון וירג'יניה
Finnish
virginiantammi
Slovak
dub virgínsky
Afrikaans
lewenseik

Where this comes from

A fact “checked by a majority of its sources” was settled by a vote of the pages it was read from, not by a person reading it; one marked “one source” rests on that page alone. Anything else not marked checked has not been checked yet. Where nothing is known, the page says so rather than guess.