From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Taxodium distichum(bald cypress)is adeciduousconiferin the familyCupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide range of soil types, whether wet, dry, or swampy. It is noted for the russet-red fall color of its lacy needles.
This plant has some cultivated varieties[2][3][4][5][6]and is often used in groupings in public spaces. Common names include bald cypress, baldcypress, swamp cypress, white cypress, tidewater red cypress, gulf cypress and red cypress.[7][8]
Taxodium distichumis a large, slow-growing, and long-livedtree. It typically grows to heights of 35–120 feet (10–40m) and has atrunk diameterof 3–6 feet (0.9–1.8m).[9][10]
The main trunk is often surrounded bycypress knees. Thebarkis grayish brown to reddish brown, thin, and fibrous with a stringy texture; it has a vertically, interwoven pattern of shallow ridges and narrow furrows.
The needle-likeleavesare1⁄2to3⁄4inch (1.3 to 1.9cm) long and are simple, alternate, green and linear, with entire margins. In autumn, the leaves turn yellow or copper red.[9]The bald cypress drops its needles each winter and then grows a new set in spring.[7]
This species ismonoecious, with male and female flowers on a single plant forming on slender, tassel-like structures near the edge of branchlets. The tree flowers in April and the seeds ripen in October.[9]The male and femalestrobiliare produced from buds formed in late autumn, with pollination in early winter, and mature in about 12 months. Maleconesemerge onpaniclesthat are 4–5 inches (10–13cm) inches long. Female cones are round,resinousand green while young. They then turn hard and then brown as the tree matures. They are globular and 2.0–3.5cm (3⁄4–13⁄8in) in diameter. They have from 20 to 30 spirally arranged, four-sided scales, each bearing one, two, or rarely three triangularseeds. Each cone contains 20 to 40 large seeds. The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the seeds. The seeds are 5–10mm (3⁄16–13⁄32in) long, the largest of any species of Cupressaceae, and are produced every year, with heavy crops every 3–5 years. The seedlings have three to nine, but usually six,cotyledonseach.[3]
The bald cypress grows in full sunlight to partial shade. This species grows best in wet or well-drained soil but can tolerate dry soil. It is moderately able to grow inaerosolsof salt water. The cones are often consumed by wildlife.[11][12]
This tree is suitable for cultivation in light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. It does well in acid, neutral and alkaline soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil and can grow in water. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.
The tallest known specimen, nearWilliamsburg, Virginia, is 44.11m (145ft) tall, and the stoutest known, in theReal CountynearLeaky, Texas, has adiameter at breast heightof 475in (39ft).[5]The oldest known living specimen, found along theBlack RiverinNorth Carolina, is at least 2,624 years old, rendering it the oldest living trees in easternNorth America.[13]
The native range extends from southeasternNew Jerseysouth toFloridaand west to EastTexasand southeasternOklahoma, and also inland up theMississippi River. Ancient bald cypressforests, with some trees more than 1,700 years old, once dominatedswampsin the Southeast. The range had been believed to extended north only as far asDelaware, but researchers have now found a natural forest on theCape MayPeninsula in southern New Jersey. The species can also be found growing outside its natural native range.[9]The largest remainingold-growthstands are atCorkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, nearNaples, Florida, and in the Three Sisters tract along eastern North Carolina'sBlack River.[citation needed]The Corkscrew trees are around 500 years of age, and some exceed 40 m in height. The Black River trees were cored bydendrochronologistDavid Stahle from theUniversity of Arkansas. He found that some began growing as early as 364 AD.[17]
This species is native to humid climates where annual precipitation ranges from about 760mm or 30 inches in Texas to 1,630mm or 64 inches along the Gulf Coast. Although it grows best in warm climates, the natural northern limit of the species is not due to a lack of cold tolerance, but to specific reproductive requirements: further north, regeneration is prevented byicedamage to seedlings. Larger trees are able to tolerate much lower temperatures and lower humidity.
In 2012scuba diversdiscovered an underwater cypress forest several miles off the coast ofMobile, Alabama, in 60 feet of water. The forest contains trees that could not be dated with radiocarbon methods, indicating that they are more than 50,000 years old and thus most likely lived in the early glacial interval of the last ice age. The cypress forest is well preserved, and when samples are cut they still smell like fresh cypress. A team, which has not yet published its results in a peer-reviewed journal, is studying the site. One possibility is that hurricane Katrina exposed the grove of bald cypress, which had been protected under ocean floor sediments.[18]
