Quercus laurifolia

Morris Bridge Park, Hillsborough Co. © Shirley Denton

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Find This Plant at a Native Nursery

Learn More About Plant Status in FL

Laurel Oak, Swamp Laurel Oak

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
Noted for:	-

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Often grown as a specimen tree, fast growing.

Considerations:

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

Propagation:

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

Availability:

Big box stores, Friends, Native nurseries, FNPS plant sales, Seed

Light:

Full Sun, Part Shade, Shade

Moisture Tolerance:

always floodedextremely dry

(Stays Wet ----- to ----- Not wet but not extremely dry)

Moisture Tolerance:

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

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.

Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or other substrate:

Clay, Loam, Organic material (muck), Sand

Soil pH:

Adaptable

Ecology

Wildlife:

Produces acorns that are used by rodents, including squirrels, and other mammals
Acorns used by woodpeckers, jays, and wild turkeys
Used for cover and nesting by a variety of bird species

Insects:

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)

Native Habitats:

River floodplains, secondary woods.

Distribution and Planting Zones

Natural Range in Florida

USDA Zones

Suitable to grow in:
10A 10B 8A 8B 9A 9B

USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures

Comments

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 on 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.