Bald Cypress

Description

Taxodium distichum, commonly called Bald Cypress, are long-lived, pyramidal deciduous conifers, that grow 50-80 feet tall. Baldcypress trees are native to the wetlands and lower flood plains of the Southeastern US, north to the extreme southern tips of Indiana and Illinois. The trunks are buttressed and can develop knobby root growths commonly called “knees” which grow above the water surface around the base of the tree. This is a familiar sight in the swamps of the deep South, were trees grow directly in water, forming large knees and branches covered with Spanish moss. Baldcypress support complex and variable ecosystems which are used by many wildlife species. Turkeys are known to prefer the long horizontal limbs of the tree. Easily adaptable to a wide range of soil conditions, Bald Cypress are planted in dry and wet areas throughout the Eastern United States as ornamental trees. Soft, feathery, green foliage turns a beautiful bronze in fall, before dropping its foliage.