By the beginning of January our deciduous trees, with only a few exceptions, have dropped their leaves. As a result, all of those evergreen species have seen their value increase. Pine trees, flowering magnolias, live oaks and hollies now carry most of the weight when it comes to enlivening the bare landscape and "creating interest." A lesser known oak, the laurel oak, contributes to the greenness of Louisiana winter landscapes.
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There is one laurel oak (Quercus hemisphaerica) in the arboretum collection. It's less than 25 years old. In December of 1998, Dr. Leuck purchased this tree from Woodlanders Nursery (Aiken, South Carolina), and the following November, he planted it in the ground of the arboretum.
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The laurel oak is pictured center. It grows on the west side of the wetland area, between Mickle Hall and the Student Union Building.
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The laurel oak grows near a black cherry (Prunus serotina), which is at the corner of the long white wooden bridge. Our native wisteria uses the black cherry as a trellis. Although the laurel oak trunk is free from vines, wisteria tendrils have invaded its upper limbs.
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Thanks to the low winter sun, we see interesting shadows cast this time of year. There's probably a good riddle waiting to be made about that.
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Our laurel oak has a straight, cylindrical trunk with no noticeable surface roots. All lower limbs have been removed, which means that the green leaves are mostly out of reach.
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Rough, dark-grey bark can be found on the lower portion of the trunk, which is most of what anyone sees of this specimen. Doesn't it look even and compliment the straightness of the trunk?
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Looking up, we see glossy green leaves and smooth, light-grey bark.
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The leaves are richly green in January, showing no sign of fatigue, suggesting that we have an evergreen species. The literature, however, tells us that we can expect all leaves to drop before new leaves emerge in the spring. Since most of the deciduous trees have already lost their foliage, this is what we call "tardily deciduous."
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Underneath, leaves are light green. Leaf margins are smooth, slightly wavy, and roll inward.
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