Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

laurel oak, swamp laurel oak

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Quercus laurifolia

Family:

Fagaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

60-100 ft tall by 40--80 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

NA

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms early spring (wind pollinated, inconspicuous flowers). Acorns ripen in 2nd fall.

Noted For:

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Often grown as a specimen tree, fast growing.

Considerations:

Somewhat weak, and compared to live oak, short-lived.

Availability:

Big Box Stores, Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales, Seed, Friends

Propagation:

Seed, small plants. Readily available as a containerized sapling.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun, Shade

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Stays wet ---to--- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Clay, Loam, Organic

Soil pH:

adaptable

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B

Ecology

Wildlife:

Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals

Larval host for Horace’s Duskywing ( Erynnis horatius ) and White M Hairstreak ( Parrhasius m-album ).





Larval host for several moth species (some of the caterpillars are not appreciated)

Produces acorns that are used by rodents, including squirrels, and other mammals





Acorns used by woodpeckers, jays, and wild turkeys.





High in tannins.





Used for cover and nesting by a variety of bird species

Native Habitats:

River floodplains, secondary woods.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Depending on who you ask, there are two laurel oaks in Florida.  Q. laurifolia (swamp laurel oak) and Q. hemisphaerica (Darlington oak, sand laurel oak). 



The taxonomists don't agree, and it appears that the two are distinctively different in north Florida but very much alike in southern and south Florida.



They are separated here because one is a wetland and floodplain plant, the other grows in dry uplands.  Some authors note that regardless of ID, they get planted without much regard for origin or drainage.