Squirrels caching acorns are a sure sign of the approach of winter-time in Florida. Acorns are an important, high-energy food source not only for squirrels but for birds including the raucous blue jays, woodpeckers (especially the red-headed), quail, and other game birds. Larger mammals like racoons and bears also rely upon this food source. Migratory warblers rest in the oak canopies and feast upon the many insects found there.
Oaks also provide good cover and nesting sites including tree holes. In Indian River County, oaks are tardily deciduous, dropping their old leaves as new leaves emerge. The fallen leaves recycle nutrients back into the soil.
Two species of oaks predominate in Indian River County – the live oak (Quercus virginiana) and the laurel oak (Quercus geminata). The two species of oaks are quite different in appearance and longevity.
Live oaks attain a massive size with substantial thick horizontal branches that were once vitally important to ship-building. This species of oak lives for hundreds of years. Its deeply furrowed bark supports a bevy of epiphytic plants including resurrection fern, Spanish moss (which birds and other creatures use for nesting material), butterfly orchids (for which Orchid Island is named), and air plants. Epiphytes do not take nutrients from the host plant.
Laurel oaks, by contrast, grow into a lolly-pop shape and, when planted in a landscape, live only 40 to 60 years. Smooth-barked, laurel oaks rarely support epiphytes. Mistletoe, a parasitic plant that penetrates the bark of its host to ‘rob’ nutrients, often is found growing on the upper branches of older laurel oaks. Birds enjoy the fruit of mistletoe, and people harvest it as a holiday green.
Both live and laurel oaks reach substantial size and grow quickly in a landscape. Neither tree should be planted under power lines or too close to homes. You can differentiate these oaks by their shape, as well as by their leaves. Live oaks have revolute leaves – the edges of leaves turn under. Laurel oak leaves are flat. Choose carefully when selecting an oak for your yard.
Text by Janice Broda.
Image by Bob Montanaro.
