Quercus laurifolia (Swamp laurel oak, Diamond-leaf oak, Water oak, Obtusa oak, Laurel oak) is a medium sized deciduous or semi-evergreen oak in the red oak section Quercus sect. Lobatae. It is native to the southeast of the United States, from coastal Virginia to central Florida and west to southeast Texas.
Fagaceae -- Beech family
Robert D. McReynolds and E. A. Hebb
Laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia) is also called Darlington oak, diamond-leaf oak, swamp laurel oak, laurel-leaf oak, water oak, and obtusa oak. There has been a long history of disagreement concerning the identity of this oak (11). It centers on the variation in leaf shapes and differences in growing sites (5), giving some reason to name a separate species, diamond-leaf oak (Q. obtusa). Here they are treated synonymously. Laurel oak is a rapid-growing short-lived tree of the moist woods of the southeastern Coastal Plain. It has no value as lumber but makes good fuelwood. It is planted in the South as an ornamental. Large crops of acorns are important food for wildlife.