Live Oak is called “Live” because they do not lose their leaves in the winter.

There are a lot of varieties of Live Oaks, but the kind on Hilton Head Island is Southern Live Oak, Quercus Virginiana. There are many very large, old trees on the island. Live Oak trees can grow over 65 feet tall with a canopy up to nearly 90 feet wide. The root system is as wide as the canopy or even wider. That is why they stand up to hurricanes, floods and even forest fires so well. The deep tap root makes them able to survive salt spray and salt water flooding.

Although Live Oaks do not drop their leaves in the fall, they are not actually evergreens. The leaves may turn yellow or brown in the winter. And they drop, but not until spring when the new leaves come in.

Live Oak trees support many other plants, such as Spanish moss, ball moss, resurrection fern, and mistletoe.

Live oak wood is heavy and very hard. It was used as the framing timber on ships. “Old Ironsides” was built of Southern Live Oak. It was so dense it could stand up to cannon fire.

The Liberty Oak at Harbour Town, in Sea Pines, is thought to be some 300 years old. In the 50s, Charles Fraser modified the plans for the marina at Harbour Town to save this ancient live oak tree. He was the developer and environmentalist who had greatest impact on Hilton Head Island. When he died in 2002, he was buried beneath the Liberty Oak.