Live Oaks; Evergreen species in genus Quercus

The name live oak comes from the fact that evergreen oaks remain green and "live" throughout winter, when other oaks are dormant, leafless and "dead"-looking. Live oak was widely used in early American shipbuilding. Because of the trees' short height and low hanging branches, lumber from live oak was specifically used to make curved structural members of the hull such as knee braces. In such cuts of lumber the line of the grain would fall perpendicularly to lines of stress creating structures of exceptional strength. Live oak was not generally used for planking because the curved and often convoluted shape of the tree did not lend itself to be milled to planking of any length. Red oak or white oak was generally used for planking on vessels as those trees tended to grow straight and tall and thus would yield straight trunk sections of length suitable for milling into plank lengths. It continues to be used occasionally when available in shipbuilding as well as for tool handles for its strength, energy absorption, and density.