Carlyle Lake

Redirecting...

American Bald Cypress

Taxodium distichum

Deciduous

Other Name: Swamp Cypress

American Bald Cypress Leaves
American Bald Cypress Leaves
American Bald Cypress Fruit
American Bald Cypress Fruit
American Bald Cypress Bark
American Bald Cypress Bark
American Bald Cypress Knees
American Bald Cypress Knees
 

Leaves: Needles borne singly, pointed at the tip, up to 3/4 inches long, yellow-green, falling away during autumn.

Buds: Spherical, pale brown, up to 1/8 inch in diameter.

Bark: Pale reddish-brown, broken into numerous thin scales, becoming fibrous.

Twigs: Slender, reddish-brown, leaf scars absent.

Flowers: Staminate borne in branched clusters up to 5 inches long, purplish, pistillate few to several near the ends of the twigs, spherical.

Fruits: Cones nearly spherical, up to 1 inch in diameter, green to brown, wrinkled.

Wood: Soft, durable, light in weight, brown.

Uses: Railroad ties, fence posts, barrels, bridges; often planted as an ornamental.

Habitat: Swamps and low wet woods.

Growth Form: Large tree to over 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 8 feet; crown open and spreading to pyramidal; base of trunk often swollen; “knees” usually produced if tree is growing in water.

Distinguishing Feature: Bald Cypress is distinguished by the feathery appearance of its leaves and by its spherical, wrinkled cones.

Source: Mohlenbrock, Robert. Forest Trees of Illinois. Eighth Edition, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, 1996.