Laurel Oak or Live Oak? How to Tell, and Why It Matters

Both oaks are all over Volusia County yards, and from the street they can look alike. But they age very differently. Live oaks can last for centuries. Laurel oaks, according to UF/IFAS, typically live 50 to 70 years and often hollow out from decay as they get older. Knowing which one you have tells you how closely to watch it.

How to tell them apart

Leaves

• Live oak: thick, stiff, leathery leaves, dark green on top and paler and slightly fuzzy underneath. The edges often curl under a little.
• Laurel oak: thinner, smoother, glossy leaves that are green on both sides, shaped a bit like a narrow laurel or bay leaf.

Bark

• Live oak: dark, rough and deeply furrowed into blocky ridges.
• Laurel oak: smoother on younger trees, with shallower ridges as it ages.

Shape

• Live oak: wide and sprawling, often wider than it is tall, with long, low, curving limbs.
• Laurel oak: taller than it is wide, with a denser, oval canopy and a more upright trunk.

Leaf drop

• Live oak stays green through the year and swaps its old leaves for new ones quickly in spring.
• Laurel oak is semi-evergreen and often looks thin or bare for a stretch in late winter before the new leaves come in.

Why laurel oaks need a closer look

UF/IFAS notes that even a small trunk wound or a bad pruning cut on a laurel oak can lead to a column of decay 10, 20 or more feet long inside the trunk. A study of Tampa street trees found decay in about two-thirds of the large laurel oaks tested, compared with under a third of the live oaks.

That doesn't mean every laurel oak is dangerous. It means a mature laurel oak, especially one that's 40 years or older or growing over a house, driveway or play area, is worth having checked.

Signs your laurel oak may be in decline

• Mushrooms or conks growing on the trunk or at the base
• Hollow-sounding spots, cavities or open wounds on the trunk
• Large dead limbs in the upper canopy
• Cracks where big limbs join the trunk
• Thinning leaves outside the normal late-winter drop

See our full list of signs of a dangerous tree.

Caring for each tree

• Live oak: give it room and prune it for good structure while it's young, so it develops well-spaced limbs.
• Laurel oak: prune small branches regularly instead of cutting big limbs later, since large cuts invite decay. Have mature trees inspected every few years.

Sources: UF/IFAS ST549 (laurel oak); UF/IFAS ST564 (southern live oak); Koeser et al., Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 42(4), 2016 (Tampa decay study).