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• Volumnia Live Oaks

Home -> Volumnia Live Oaks

Volumnia Live Oaks

Live Oaks at Volumnia Farm

Volumnia Farm has over 30 live oak trees on its premises; 26 being registered and named with the Live Oak Society of the Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc. The oldest tree (R.R. Barrow tree) is over 6 feet in diameter and estimated to be almost 500 years old, and the second oldest (Adolph Gaidry) is 5' 8'' in diameter and about 430 years old. The Southern Live Oak (Quercus Virginiana), unlike other oaks, keeps its leaves all year except for a few weeks in the spring when it replaces the old leaves (hence the name live); and the Live Oak and its Spanish moss is iconic to Old South Louisiana and Volumnia Farm. This majestic tree can reach a height of over 60 feet and a spread double the height with a root system under ground equal to the size of the tree above ground; making it very hard to uproot in the high winds and hurricanes common to South Louisiana. Sweet, tapered acorns produced by the trees are eaten by birds and mammals, including sapsuckers, mallards, wild turkeys, squirrels, black bears, and deer. Other birds make use of the moss that frequently hangs from the tree branches to construct nests. The Live Oak is also home to epiphytes (air plants) Spanish moss, night-blooming cereus; staghorn fern and resurrection fern.

To find the age of a Live Oak
4 or 5 feet from the ground, measure with a tape measure the circumference of the tree Divide the circumference by 3.1416 Convert to inches First 10 inches = 76 years Add 6.5 years for every inch between 10 inches and 22 inches Add 6 years for every inch over 22 inches

List of Live Oaks registered with the Louisiana Live Oak Society
Name	Circumference	Spread
1. Aunt Roberta Gaidry	15'	95'
2. Aunt Mary Buck	12' 7''	60'
3. Louise Slatter	12' 10''	70'
4. Clara Slatter	9' 3''	60'
5. Emma Billings	8' 2''	55'
6. Aunt Laura Gaidry	8' 3''	58'
7. Volumnia Hunley	16' 8''	75'
8. Volumnia Barrow	15' 5''	70'
9. Ascension Slatter	14' 5''	75'
10. Adolph Gaidry	18' 0''	105'
11. Lillie Lea McKnight	12' 6''	95'
12. R. R. Barrow	19' 5''	110'
13. Rebecca Gaidry	10' 2''	65'
14. Brook Sanford	9' 8''	60'
15. Grandma Cadiere	14' 5''	80'
16. Louise Lawson	8' 8''	70'
W1. Wilson Gaidry I	15' 3''	90'
W2. Wilson Gaidry II	8' 8''	60'
W3. Doris Prestenbach	9' 5''	60'
W4. Dot Folks	12' 0''	100'
W5. Eva LeBouef	10' 8''	85'
W6. Evella Lirette	11' 3''	80'
W7. Melinda Ledet	15' 4''	90'
W8. Lisa Ledet	12' 2''	65'
W9. Wanda Ledet	13' 5''	88'
W10. Wilson Gaidry III	13' 4''	75'

Aunt Roberta Gaidry oak

R.R. Barrow oak

R.R. Barrow oak

Volumnia Barrow oak

Ascension Slatter oak

Resurrection fern

Spanish moss

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