Southern Live Oak

trees · southern USA · evergreen · massive

Spreads impossibly wide. Southern live oaks don't grow super tall, but their branches stretch out enormously. The biggest one in Louisiana is only 68 feet tall but spreads 139 feet across, making it wider than a football field.

Keeps its leaves. Unlike most oak trees that lose all their leaves in winter, southern live oaks are semi-evergreen, meaning they hold onto some leaves year-round even in cold months.

Icon of the Old South. These trees are deeply woven into the history and culture of the Deep South, appearing in countless photographs, paintings, and stories about the region.

Ancient giants exist. Many live oaks alive today are extremely old, and the largest specimens found in the Deep South are among the biggest oak trees anywhere in the world.

Coastal Southeast home. Southern live oaks grow naturally along the Coastal Plain of the Southeastern United States, from the Atlantic coast westward.