Any cryptic crossword aficionados out there?

[sleepyhead]

Regular puzzles, even the Sunday NYT ones, bore me. I love cryptic crosswords! I have run through all the books I can find (Henry Hook, etc) and am looking for more. Any ideas about where to look now? (I am not particularly interested in the British ones, as they tend to contain too many slang expressions that don't translate well.) Thanks for any advice.

[finecraft]

1. What is the five or six letter word for live oak

that start with an e? My mother is "wintering over" at my house, and she is driving me freaking nuts! She can't complete a crossword puzzle she has been working on for the past two weeks unless she knows what that word is.....and I'm sick of being asked for the 30th time if I know what it is. Have any suggestions?
HELP!!!!PLEASE!!!!!!!!

[sleepyhead]

2. Encina?

Epiphyte? Quercus? Just guessing - do any of these work?

[finecraft]

3. You are a God!

I think encina is it! She is working on the rest of the puzzle now to see if that is the word. Words of thanks are not enough.....you have truly saved my sanity (and probably my mother's life)!

[sleepyhead]

4. Nope, goddess.

Now if I could only find some appropriate books for myself! (Hi, finecraft's mom! Hope you finish it soon - I know how frustrating these things can be!)