Southern comfort: Katrina focused the world's attention on these trees, beloved as a symbol of long life and a slower pace Life Portal BR

Southern comfort: Katrina focused the world's attention on these trees, beloved as a symbol of long life and a slower pace

Old tobacco and cotton plantation causeways lined with trees. City parks and forested countrysides draped with Spanish moss. Images of the South are almost assuredly set against the backdrop of a spreading live oak. Whether they formed front yard playgrounds or ended a romantic evening, these oaks have made an indelible mark on southern culture since before our nation's founding

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What is it about Quercus virginiana van virginiana that make it such a strong and vibrant image? Is it the seemingly endless stretch of horizontal branches, the exotic appeal of moss-covered limbs shrouded in fog? Or perhaps the sense of enveloping comfort those large, sprawling limbs and huge canopies provide.

Whatever the allure, live oaks were the trees people thought of first after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. Fortunately the low-slung trees are suited for hurricane weather. While some live oaks were lost, many survived with just a battering.(Continue Reading)

Southern comfort: Katrina focused the world's attention on these trees, beloved as a symbol of long life and a slower pace
Old tobacco and cotton plantation causeways lined with trees. City parks and forested countrysides draped with Spanish moss. Images of the South are ...(Continue Reading)

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