Taxodium distichum aka Bald Cypress

Taxodium distichum, the bald cypress or swamp cypress, is a deciduous conifer in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. It is native to the eastern and southeastern United States, with a wider range reaching Guatemala. Wild trees grow along southern swamps, bayous and river banks. In coastal areas they range from Delaware and Maryland to Texas. Inland they follow the lower Mississippi valley north to Illinois and Missouri. It is the state tree of Louisiana and one of the longest-lived trees in the world.

In gardens it reaches 50 to 70 feet (15 to 21 m) tall and 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 m) wide. Old trees can top 100 feet (30 m), and rare giants reach 150 feet (46 m). Young trees form a narrow pyramid or cone with level branches. With age the crown often spreads and becomes irregular or almost flat on top. The trunk swells into a buttressed base. Trees growing in or beside water for most of the year send up knobby, conical root "knees". These rarely form on drier sites.

The soft, feathery needles are flat and under an inch long. They sit in two rows along short deciduous shoots, so each shoot resembles a pinnate leaf. Foliage opens yellow-green in late spring and matures to a soft green. In autumn it turns coppery, yellow-brown or reddish brown before the shoots drop. The reddish-brown bark is fibrous and peels in narrow strips, giving winter interest. The tree is monoecious. Male cones hang in drooping clusters in spring, while female cones are round, green and up to about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide. They ripen brown and resinous in autumn.

Bald cypress grows best in full sun but accepts part shade. It prefers moist, acidic, sandy soil, yet adapts to clay, loam and compacted ground. It tolerates long flooding and standing water, and also copes with fairly dry upland soils once settled. Alkaline soils above pH 7.5 often cause yellowing (chlorosis). It is hardy to USDA zones 4 or 5 through 10, and the RHS rates it H7. Growth is moderate to fast, often 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 m) in 15 to 25 years. It resists wind, breakage, salt spray, ozone and deer.

Gardeners use it as a lawn, shade, street or specimen tree, and at pond edges or in rain gardens. It can also be clipped as a hedge or trained as bonsai. Its roots seldom lift paving, and it needs little pruning. Birds and squirrels eat the seeds, and birds nest in the branches. The heavy, rot-resistant heartwood has served for barrels, shingles, railroad ties and water pipes. People once twisted the bark into cordage.

Healthy trees have few problems. Bagworms can strip parts of the tree. Spider mites cause early browning in dry summers, and gall mites occur now and then. Twig blight may kill shoot tips on stressed trees. In Britain, honey fungus may attack it. No edible uses are recorded, and sources list no known hazards. Resin from the cones has served as a folk painkiller for wounds.