Virginia Tech Dendrology

shrub live oak Fagaceae Quercus turbinella Greene symbol: QUTU2
Leaf: Alternate, evergreen, simple, elliptical, 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long, spine-tipped lobes (holly- like), leathery and stiff, dull gray-green above (may have some whitish bloom) and smooth or finely fuzzy beneath.
Flower: Species is monoecious; males in drooping 1 inch long catkins, yellow-green; females very small spikes in leaf axils, appearing with the leaves.
Fruit: Narrowly oblong acorn, 1/2 to 1 inch long; shallow, warty cap covers 1/4 to 1/3 of nut; ripens in 1 season in early fall or even late summer.
Twig: Slender, reddish brown with some fine tan fuzz when young; buds clustered, globose.
Bark: Light gray and finely scaly.
Form: A large clump-forming dense shrub up to 15 feet, occasionally a small tree.
Looks like: scrub oak - gray oak - canyon live oak - leather oak

Additional Range Information: Quercus turbinella is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 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