Escarpment Live Oak
Quercus fusiformis
Escarpment live oak is the cold- and drought-hardy live oak of the Texas Hill Country, evergreen and immensely tough on thin limestone soils. Spreads into picturesque mottes that define the central Texas landscape. Its acorns are low in tannin and sweet enough to need little leaching before grinding into flour; an edible oil has also been pressed from the seed.
- Family
- Fagaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 40–80 ft
- Spacing
- 30–100 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, alkaline
- Bloom
- March, April, May
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- songbirds, butterflies, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~557 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- naturalizing
- Native states
- OK, TX
Related native plants
More Quercus species
- Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
- Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
- White Oak (Quercus alba)
- Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia)
- Willow Oak (Quercus phellos)
- Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)