Plant · P-994

Escarpment Live Oak

Quercus fusiformis

Escarpment live oak is a medium-sized, semi-evergreen oak native to the limestone country of central Texas and northeastern Mexico, holding most of its leaves through winter before a brief bare period as new growth emerges in spring. It typically grows 20 to 40 feet tall with wide-spreading branches, and forms dense thickets, or motts, by sprouting from its roots. More drought-tolerant and cold-hardy than the coastal live oak it is often confused with, it grows on rocky, calcareous soils as well as sandy or clay ground. Its acorns and dense cover support birds and small mammals, and its foliage hosts hairstreak and duskywing butterfly larvae.