sand live oak
Quercus geminata
Its leaves have strongly curled edges that trap moist air underneath, a specialized adaptation designed to prevent water loss in dry, sandy soils.
- Scientific name
- Quercus geminata
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Fagales › Fagaceae › Quercus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Coastal dunes, sandhills, scrublands, and maritime forests
- Diet
- Autotrophic (Photosynthesis via sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide)
- Range
- Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina
- Size
- Typically 10 to 50 feet (3 to 15 meters) tall, often forming low, dense thickets in harsh coastal environments
- Lifespan
- 100 to 200+ years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Coastal residential development, habitat fragmentation, and fire suppression in scrub ecosystems
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and safe to approach. You can freely touch the rough bark and examine the deeply cupped leaves. While the tree itself is completely safe, be mindful of stinging caterpillars (such as the buck moth caterpillar) that occasionally nest in its foliage during the spring.
Quercus geminata , commonly called sand live oak , is an evergreen oak tree native to the coastal regions of the subtropical southeastern United States, along the Atlantic Coast from southern Florida northward to southeastern Virginia and along the Gulf Coast westward to southern Mississippi, on seacoast dunes and on white sands in evergreen oak scrubs.
Photo: Douglas Goldman, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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