Escarpment Live Oak

A resilient evergreen native Texas tree that provides year-round foliage and structure to the landscape. Native across the Central Great Plains, Chihuahuan Deserts, Cross Timbers, East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, Southern Texas Plains, and Texas Blackland Prairies, Escarpment Live Oak (Quercus fusiformis) thrives in local conditions while supporting the surrounding ecosystem. Distinguished by dark foliage that is though this species appears to be evergreen, it is actually deciduous, late each winter dropping its old leaves just as new ones emerge, it offers an exceptional visual and tactile texture. During spring, the plant produces yellow flower clusters. Flowering is followed by dark brown 1/3 to 1/2 inch acorns that add vibrant visual contrast and seasonal interest. It plays a vital ecological role as a larval host plant for Central Texas butterflies, including Skippers, Hairstreaks, Arizona Sister, and Horace's Duskywing. Many species of birds as well as squirrels use the tree for cover and the acorns for food. Thriving in calcareous, dry, gravelly, limestone, loam, and shallow, Escarpment Live Oak demonstrates outstanding hardiness once established. It requires minimal supplemental water and adapts seamlessly to drought conditions.