Quercus fusiformis aka Texas Live Oak

Quercus fusiformis is in Fagaceae, the beech family. Its native range spans southwestern Oklahoma to northeastern Mexico. Kew lists it as a shrub or tree from subtropical zones. It can form dense thickets of large shrubs. It can also grow into a small tree. Virginia Tech gives its height as 40 feet [12.2 metres]. The trees have short trunks and broad crowns that spread out.

The leaves grow in turn along the twigs. They feel like leather and each has one blade. Their shape is oblong or a narrow oval. Virginia Tech says they stay green all year, or nearly so. Their top face is green and shines. Fine hairs coat the paler lower face. Leaf edges may be smooth or spiny. They may also roll under a little. Thin grey twigs have fine hairs and feel stiff, almost prickly. Small, blunt buds grow in groups at the tips. Young bark is smooth, then splits into small, scaly blocks. With age, it grows dark and forms scaly ridges.

Each plant bears both male and female flowers. Male flowers hang in yellow-green catkins. Tiny female flowers grow in small spikes at leaf axils. These are the points where leaves join the stems. Acorns grow alone or in groups of up to three. Their dark brown shells may have light stripes. A warty cup shaped like a top covers about half of each nut. The nuts often taper at both ends, but their shape varies. They ripen in early autumn of their first year.

The RHS suggests this oak for large gardens and parkland. It needs good light and soil that drains well but holds moisture. The RHS does not name a soil texture it needs. Sow seeds soon after they fall. Or take semi-ripe cuttings in late summer. The supplied sources give no hardiness zone or exact plan for watering. They give no evidence on food use or toxicity.

The RHS page gives clashing accounts of size and leaves. Treat those details with care. Its overview says the tree sheds its leaves. It gives deeply lobed leaves and a height of 66 feet [20 metres]. Yet its leaf entry says evergreen, closer to Virginia Tech's account. The RHS names aphids and caterpillars as possible pests. It also lists leaf-mining moths and oak gall wasps. Powdery mildew may occur too. These problems are possible; they will not affect every tree.