SCIENTIFIC NAME: Quercus laurifolia

COMMON NAME: laurel oak

LEAVES: Thick and evergreen. Elliptical or falcate. Usually 2" to 4" long. May have a few points particularly out toward the end of the leaf. Is lighter green underneath and glabrous. Tends to have a rounded to acute leaf tip and glossy to dull upper leaf surface.

BARK: Gray and ridge and furrowed.

OTHER: One of the willow leaved oaks. Native to south Alabama. Can grow 60' to 70' tall and wide. Used commonly in shopping mall parking lots. Evergreen in the south, but more deciduous in north Alabama. Hardy into TN. This species is being used a lot more in the landscape. Transplants well. Quercus hemisphaerica, Darlington oak, is very similar to laurel oak and is native in South Carolina. It typically has a few more teeth on the leaf and has a more acute leaf tip and a more shiny leaf. Supposedly more drought tolerant than laurel oak. For purposes of this course we will not separate these species. Darlington oak seems to be in demand.