Live Oak Evergreen?

After seeing the post on "live oak", I did some research and realized they all seem to be evergreen. I purchased a tree, in early spring, without leaves, tagged "live oak" several years ago which I am growing in the ground. However, it is definitely not an evergreen. Its leaves are the traditional lobed oak leaves, but much smaller. The leaves fall off in the fall. Are all "live oaks" evergreen, or do I have a tree that was mislabled, and if so, do you know what oak has naturally small (an inch at the most) leaves?

There are several live oak. Quercus virginiana (Live Oak) has plain looking oval leaves, pointed at the stem.
I have a Coast Live Oak Quercus agrifoliawhich has leaves like Holly, with sharp points, and the bark is very light, nearly white. It is definitely evergreen. I have not seen a live oak with lobed leaves like white oak or red oak.

Yes. Live oaks are evergreen. That's where the "live" comes from.

At least for Q. virginiana, the term isn't quite accurate, however. The leaves stay on for almost 12 months, but all of them fall as soon as new leaves start forming. This means there's often a day or two that the tree appears to be leafless, with only a hint of green showing from the new leaves. Most people never notice because the "leafless" period is so brief.

Oaks are very difficult to ID because they cross breed so readily. There is a story of an agricultural university that did a genetic study on a stand of oaks and found that all of the trees were crosses of some kind,

Billy on the Florida Space Coast

Here are the leaves on my coast live oak, from an acorn that I collected in Walnut Creek, CA about 1993.

The Coast Live Oak of California and the Southern Live Oaks are two very different trees.

Billy on the Florida Space Coast

Thanks for the info. I'm sure I don't have a live oak. Once it leafs out, I'll post a picture.

I have a live oak that I have been training for about ten years. It is a Quercus Virginiana. Because of an infestation of galls, I am looking forward to a hard pruning in the near future as I get rid of the galls. Because of it being an evergreen (sheds its old leaves every March in Dallas, TX, as the new ones emerge) I would be interested in seeing a schedule for pruning, repotting, leaf pruning, etc. The tree is need of some tertiary ramification and additional styling to look authentic.

Tim Ahlen
Dallas TX Zone 8ish