Different Species of Florida Oak Trees

The University of Florida notes that 19 different species of oak (Quercus spp.) are natives across various soils and climates in the Sunshine State. Both evergreen and winter deciduous types grow in Florida, some attain colorful leaves in fall in the colder parts of northern Florida. Not all oaks develop the characteristic leaf with many pointy lobes, some trees' leaves are slender ovals. All species produce hard, dry fruits called acorns, secured in a woody cap to the tree branches and eventually dropping to the ground.

Chapman's oak (Quercus chapmanii) grows as a variable shrub or small tree 6 to 30 feet tall across Florida's scrub habitats according to Rufino Osorio, author of "A Gardener's Guide to Florida's Native Plants." It grows quickly after wildfires in the native sandy soil and is common from the panhandle to Collier and Dade Counties.

Native to northern and central Florida counties, the laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia) typically grows 50 to 60 feet tall. Its leaves are slender ovals and drop off in very early spring before new foliage flushes out about a month later.

The romantic symbol of the Deep South, the live oak (Quercus virginiana) is native to all parts of Florida. Slow growing with oval evergreen leaves, it eventually matures in the range of 40 to 50 feet with low, spreading branches creating a wide tree 60 to 80 feet wide. There's nothing perhaps more Southern in appearance than a live oak tree draped in Spanish moss.

The post oak (Quercus stellata) displays leaves that resemble a lobed cross. The dark green leaves have fuzzy undersides. This tree matures 40 to 50 feet tall. The university notes that natural form of this tree, the shorter sand post oak (Quercus stellata var. margaretta) matures as a large shrub and has woolly twigs.

Native to the panhandle, overcup oak (Quercus lyrata) prospers in moist to wet bottomland habitats. maturing 35 to 45 feet tall, the trunk is often twisted. As the common name implies, each acorn is covered with a cup that masks over half of the nut.

With leathery, yellow-green leaves and an irregular branching structure, the turkey oak (Quercus laevis) naturally grows in dry, nutrient-poor sandy soils in the northern 2/3 of Florida above Lake Okechobee. It matures generally between 20 feet and 30 feet in height.

Also called cherrybark oak, swamp red oak (Quercus pagoda) grows in moist, fertile lowlands. It potentially matures over 100 feet tall. The natural range of this species is in the panhandle west of the Alabama-Georgia border.

This evergreen oak bears rounded tongue-like leaves. Myrtle oak (Quercus myrtifolia) is a small tree, often creating a thicket in the dry Florida sandy soils near the beach. It's native to all parts of the state and matures no taller than 35 feet.

Water oak (Quercus nigra) grows abundantly among the mixed pine forests in northern and central Florida. The light green, spatula-like leaves drop off slowly across the entire winter before regrowing in spring. This tree matures 50 to 70 feet tall, but great variation exists among specimens.

Growing in dry, sandy soils and maturing no taller than 50 feet, the blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) loses its leaves in winter. The T-shaped yellow-green leaves have fuzzy orange undersides. Some may say the leaf looks like the bottom silhouette of the Space Shuttle.

Bluejack oak (Quercus incana) grows as a large shrub or small tree up to 35 feet tall. Its blue-green oval leaves have woolly undersides. Native to dry, sandy habitats, the University of Florida mentions this oak often grows alongside turkey oak and longleaf pines (Pinus palustris) in the northern half of Florida.

Chinkapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), bluff oak (Quercus austrina), white oak (Quercus alba), swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii), Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii), willow oak (Quercus phellos) and the southern red oak (Quercus falcata) comprise the balance of oak trees native to Florida based on a list provided by the University of Florida Extension Service. Unthought-of-oak (Quercus inopina) is endemic to Florida, meaning it is native solely to Florida and nowhere else on earth.