bald cypress
bald cypress, (Taxodium distichum), ornamental and timber conifer (family Cupressaceae) native to wetland areas of southern North America. The dominant tree in many swamps and riverine ecosystems throughout its range, the bald cypress provides habitat and breeding grounds for numerous wading birds, amphibians, and other wildlife; improves and maintains water quality; and helps control floodwaters and slow soil erosion. The wood of the bald cypress is valued for its resistance to water and rot and is known in the lumber trade as pecky, or peggy, cypress when it contains small, attractive holes, which are caused by a fungus. The tree is cultivated as an ornamental for its colorful fall foliage and can be planted far north of its native range. It is the state tree of Louisiana.
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Division: Pinophyta
- Class: Pinopsida
- Order: Pinales
- Family: Cupressaceae
- Genus: Taxodium
Physical description
Bald cypresses are long-lived and slow growing; old trees are usually hollow. A young bald cypress is symmetrical and pyramidal. As it matures it develops a coarse, wide-spreading head. Its tapering trunk is usually about 30 meters (100 feet) tall and about 1 meter (3 feet) in diameter. The reddish brown bark weathers to an ashy gray.
A tree growing in wet soil is strongly buttressed about the base, and its horizontal roots often send conical woody projections called “knees” above the waterline. These structures are pneumatophores that help oxygenate the roots and may provide support in the soft, muddy soil.
The flat, needlelike leaves are arranged alternately in two ranks along small twigs. The tree is deciduous—hence the name “bald”—though the leaves can persist year-round in warm climates. Its fall colors are striking reds and oranges. As a gymnosperm the plant does not produce flowers or fruit. The seed cones are green and globular and are typically no larger than 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) in diameter.
(Read Britannica’s essay “What’s the Difference Between Angiosperms and Gymnosperms?”)
- Also called:
- swamp cypress
- Related Topics:
- Taxodium
- pond cypress
- pecky cypress
- knee
Classification
The taxonomy of the genus Taxodium is contentious; the genus consists of one to three species. The smaller pond cypress, or upland cypress, of the southeastern United States is usually listed as a variety of the bald cypress (T. distichum, variety imbricatum); however, it is sometimes considered to be a separate species (T. ascendens). The closely related Montezuma cypress, or Mexican cypress (T. mucronatum), is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Guatemala. It is generally considered to be a separate species and is distinguished from the bald cypress by its shorter, persistent leaves and larger cones. It rarely produces knees.