Oak question...

mrcaptainbob · July 03, 2011, 10:00:33 PM

Light oak, dark, red....all are easy for me to understand. But what about this 'live' oak? What makes it special?

Texas Ranger · July 03, 2011, 11:42:55 PM

Separate species, usually a southern oak, broad spreading crown. The English used the woods natural curves to make ships ribs. Tough wood, maybe Old Ironsides had live oak sheathing to bounce those canon balls.

WDH · July 04, 2011, 12:12:29 AM

Very dense, heavy, strong, and rot resistant.

BaldBob · July 04, 2011, 02:20:01 PM

No one mentioned its most obvious feature - the leaves are persistent (don't come off each fall).

LeeB · July 04, 2011, 06:37:31 PM

The leaves do drop in the spring as the new leaves are put on. It makes a fantastic fire wood and is one of my favorite smoking woods.

WDH · July 04, 2011, 11:10:50 PM

It is a prolific acorn producer and is a very fine tree for the wildlife.

OneWithWood · July 05, 2011, 12:06:20 PM

Quote from: LeeB on July 04, 2011, 06:37:31 PM
The leaves do drop in the spring as the new leaves are put on. It makes a fantastic fire wood and is one of my favorite smoking woods.

That would be for medicinal purposes only, right? :D :D :D ;D

SwampDonkey · July 05, 2011, 03:52:51 PM

Hey, maybe that's what I've got. My white oak holds it's leaves all winter (turning brown) and they drop as new leaves elongate in spring. ;) ;D

Magicman · July 07, 2011, 10:52:30 PM

The Live Oak stays green year round. There is never a time when it shows all brown leaves or all new leaves. It's leaf replacing is a gradual process. I have two in my yard along with two Magnolias, which also keep their leaves year round.

LeeB · July 08, 2011, 12:08:07 PM

QuoteThat would be for medicinal purposes only, right? :D :D :D ;D

I never inhale though. :D

Phorester · July 09, 2011, 08:12:25 AM

Quote from: Magicman on July 07, 2011, 10:52:30 PM
The Live Oak stays green year round. There is never a time when it shows all brown leaves or all new leaves. It's leaf replacing is a gradual process. I have two in my yard along with two Magnolias, which also keep their leaves year round.

That's how it got it's name,because it has green leaves (stays "alive") all year.

And, yes, live oak was used in the construction of Old Ironsides. The US Navy once owned live oak forests for shipbuilding back in the days of wooden ships and iron men.

LeeB · July 09, 2011, 12:31:19 PM

To the best of my knowlege it still does in Florida somewhere.

PC-Urban-Sawyer · July 13, 2011, 10:06:42 AM

The area in question is in Gulf Shores, close to Pensacola, FL.

The area was originally owned and managed by the Navy and is now part of the US National Parks system.

http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/navalliveoaks.html

Herb

WDH · July 13, 2011, 09:35:28 PM

If the Dark Ages return and we have to go back to wooden ships, we will be ready

.

SwampDonkey · July 14, 2011, 03:44:41 AM

I suppose we could go gather up all those lone white pine and hemlock left to stand or fall down on the harvest blocks to make dugouts up here. :D I had to climb over a few hemlock yesterday laying in the block that were 3 feet thick several feet up from the but end. :

There was one old smasher still standing that musta been about 50 inches dbh, one huge bugger and tall like a pine.

These are all on hardwood forest.

Magicman · July 14, 2011, 03:02:26 PM

:-\ If those times ever return, transportation will not be our problem. It will be food. :-\ Of course a majority of our food depends upon transportation, so I guess that it is the chicken/egg ???

SwampDonkey · July 14, 2011, 07:16:33 PM

Well, we could get by on wood, steam and the old time locomotive steam engine. ;D The whole dang system is screwed up anyway, we are loosing our trains to trucks that move only one van load at a time just because it's convenient to come to your door instead of you coming to the train siding. We will return to the train one day.

tyb525 · July 14, 2011, 07:24:55 PM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on July 14, 2011, 07:16:33 PM
Well, we could get by on wood, steam and the old time locomotive steam engine. ;D The whole dang system is screwed up anyway, we are loosing our trains to trucks that move only one van load at a time just because it's convenient to come to your door instead of you coming to the train siding. We will return to the train one day.

I like the way this SD guy thinks ;D

Banjo picker · July 15, 2011, 06:57:57 AM

The trouble with that is we have demolished most of our train depos here in the south...I really hated to see the one here in Iuka be torn down...Nothng was even built back in its place...just no one would keep it up...Tim

thecfarm · July 15, 2011, 07:07:33 AM

Train depots are gone here too. Some have been moved and some have been converted to live in. Some tracks have been torn up and the ROW turned into bike,walking trails. Trying to get the passenger train going here. May work for people going to work,but hard to go from one town to another. State keeps pouring money into it. My Father watched the passenger train fade out. Not much freight being hauled by rail here. Probaly if the paper company was not here here,the train would not even come this far. I do have an old china cabinet that is wrote on the back,Livermore Falls Depot. The cabinet was my Grandparents.

Mooseherder · July 15, 2011, 07:29:14 PM

Quote from: LeeB on July 09, 2011, 12:31:19 PM
To the best of my knowlege it still does in Florida somewhere.

Yep, ours stays green all the time.

mrcaptainbob · July 15, 2011, 11:24:14 PM

So, what makes live oak unique is that it stays 'green' all year long, is more dense than other oaks, causing it to have been desirable for use in ship building. Neat stuff. Thanks for posts, FF helpers....

Banjo picker · July 16, 2011, 07:34:28 AM

Looks like some of you gents that have some close by would pop in a nice pic about now... ;) I have none here , I have seen them in other areas beautful spreading tree..Tim

Mooseherder · July 16, 2011, 09:00:10 AM

I have an old picture of the Live Oak from 2010.
It has a lean from the Hurricanes of 2004.

Banjo picker · July 16, 2011, 09:21:57 PM

Thank you Mooseherder...and framed in by two arrow straight pines as well....Looks like the ower of the house should be thankful that the root system held...Tim