The wood is used for construction, flooring, cabinetry, and fences. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The bald cypress is easily grown in average, medium to wet, moisture-retentive but reasonably well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Unlike most cone-bearing trees, bald-cypress loses its needles each winter and grows a new set in spring. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/plant/bald-cypress-species, North Carolina State University - Taxodium distichum, Missouri Botanical Garden - Taxodium distichum, University of Connecticut - Taxodium Distichum, United States Department of Agriculture - Taxodium distichum, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Taxodium distichum. The towering bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) is a common sight on Southern waterways, but it's also well-suited to California climes and is often grown as an ornamental. Leaf Discoloration. Given appropriate bald cypress care, these trees can thrive in drier, upland soils. Bald cypress (also spelled baldcypress) is a conifer native to much of the United States. The smaller pond, or upland, cypress of the southeastern U.S. 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). Taxodium distichum, commonly called bald cypress, is a long-lived, pyramidal conifer (cone-bearing tree) which grows 100-120 feet tall. The bald cypress is the best known of the three species of Taxodium, and the one which has been most often planted. Corrections? Repeated exposure to heat and dry soil will cause individual leaves to begin to yellow and then turn rusty orange. The feathery leaves of bald cypress are usually an even green. It is one of the longest living trees in … Spanish moss is often found hanging on the branches and provides food for Yellow-throated warblers. The trees are deciduous, though the leaves can persist year-round in warm climates. Twospotted Spider Mites on Landscape Plants. The reddish brown bark weathers to an ashy gray. It typically grows to heights of 35–120 feet (10–40 m) and has a trunk diameter of 3–6 feet (0.9–1.8 m). In cultivation, however, it grows very well in drier, upland soils. Bald-cypress This stately conifer, native to the Midwest, often is found in groupings in parks and larger spaces, along streets, and around lakes. Premium Membership is now 50% off! This species has been known to tolerate flooded conditions for extended periods of time. Bald cypresses are deciduous conifer trees that lose their foliage in winter—hence the name ‘bald.’ The vast trees thrive in wet conditions but can also survive dry soil. Taxodium distichum, commonly called bald cypress, is a long-lived, pyramidal conifer (cone-bearing tree) which grows 100-120 feet tall. The needles are arranged spirally around a leaf stem, but are twisted and thus appear flat. It has a large taproot and is slightly salt tolerant. Before planting a bald cypress tree, note that the trees only thrive in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 9. Leaves are compound and alternate, with needle-like leaflets. The presumed function of the knees is still poorly understood; they may help oxygenate the roots or provide support in the soft muddy soil. The bald cypress is a low maintenance tree with easy fall cleanup. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Its tapering trunk is usually 30 metres (about 100 feet) tall and 1 metre (3.3 feet) in diameter. The russet-red fall color of its lacy needles is one of its outstanding characteristics. Omissions? It rarely produces knees. The closely related Montezuma, or Mexican, cypress (T. mucronatum) is native to the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala. Resistant to fire, moderately resistant to damage by deer, slightly salt tolerant, Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day), Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours), 4a, 4b, 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a. I've often been asked if there is a bald cypress that does not produce knees. In water, they develop knobby root growths ("knees") which protrude above the water surface. Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) is a primitive conifer native to southeastern North America. Read our Commitment to Diversity | Read our Privacy Statement. Bald cypress, (Taxodium distichum), also called swamp cypress, ornamental and timber conifer (family Cupressaceae) native to swampy areas of southern North America. Bald Cypress Growing. Grows a number of thick, heavy branches each with numerous small "branchlets" of leaves. Bald cypress trees grow to … Leaf tips are first to discolor and, as stress intensifies, the yellow and orange color reaches across over one-half the leaf … Our two native cypresses, bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) and pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens), both may produce knees. No fruits, cones on the bald cypress are round, wrinkled, 1 inch in diameter, and purplish-green that matures to brown. N.C. The seed cones are green and globular and are typically no larger than 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) in diameter. Pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens) is a junior ver­sion of bald cypress and is also native to the USA, whereas the Montezuma cypress (Taxodium distichum var. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Capable of reaching 100 to 150 feet in height, most landscape specimens are rarely seen in this open form because they are usually much younger and shorter. The wood of the bald cypress is valued for its water-resistance and is known as pecky, or peggy, cypress in the lumber trade when it contains small, attactive holes caused by a fungus. Wood ducks eat the seeds, as well as wild turkey, evening grosbeak, squirrels, waterfowl, and wading birds. Although it looks like a needled evergreen (same family as redwoods) in summer, it is deciduous ("bald" as the common name suggests). Although many conifers are evergreen, bald cypress trees are deciduous conifers that shed their needlelike leaves in the fall. 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. The bark is dark red-brown to silver-brown with many thin, vertical ridges. A young bald cypress is symmetrical and pyramidal. Bald cypress is one of the few conifers that is deciduous, dropping its leaves in the fall. The taxonomy of the genus Taxodium is contentious; the genus consists of one to three species. The scales are thick and irregular. Bald Cypress is one of the few deciduous conifers in North America. Trunks are flared or fluted (buttressed) at the base. Branchlets fall to the ground, leaves still attached, soon after. The Bald Cypress, like the magnolia had a shaky summer in 2012 - "transplant shock" according to our contact at Big Tex. Bald Cypress leaf detail from early April 2020 The 45 gallon Bald Cypress and the "Bracken Brown Beauty" Southern Magnolia were the first trees we purchased, from Big Tex Trees, in March 2012. form a strategic partnership called N.C. Narrowly to broadly pyramidal when young, baldcypress, the state tree of Louisiana, eventually develops into a broad-topped, spreading, open specimen when mature. Leaf color: green. The leaves fall off in the fall, giving the tree a “bald” look. The Characteristics of Bald Cypress. 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