Angel Oak, Live oak tree in Johns Island, US.
Angel Oak is a southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) in Angel Oak Park on Johns Island near Charleston, South Carolina. It stands 66.5 ft (20 m) tall with a trunk circumference of 28 ft (8.5 m), and its canopy shades 17,200 square feet (1600 m2). Its dark gray-brown bark is deeply furrowed, moss grows along the upper surfaces of the main branches, and the longest branch reaches 187 ft (57 m).
The tree is estimated at 400–500 years old. It was the 210th tree registered with the Live Oak Society and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2026. Hurricane Hugo damaged it severely in 1989, and the City of Charleston has owned the tree and surrounding park since 1991.
The name comes from the estate of Justus Angel and his wife Martha Waight Tucker Angel. Local folklore tells of ghosts of formerly enslaved people appearing as angels around the tree, a story tied to the site's plantation past.
The park opens daily except on holidays and charges no admission, with a shop selling regional goods and learning materials. A short walk is enough to circle the trunk and view the sprawling limbs from different angles.
Some branches grow downward first, touch the ground, and then rise upward again, creating natural arches. This unusual growth pattern gives the tree an almost sculptural appearance rarely seen in other specimens.
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