Named for the founder of Trees for Tucson, the Joan Lionetti Live Oak is the first and only oak cultivar that was selected and bred specifically for our unique growing conditions in the arid Southwest. Quercus fusiformis was once classified as a subspecies of the southern live oak (Q. virginiana), and the two trees are certainly very similar in appearance. However, this species is more tolerant of high soil pH, long periods of drought, and freezing temperatures.