Bald Cypress

Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), also called Baldcypress, Cypress, Swamp Cypress.

The bald cypress is a long-lived, pyramidal, deciduous conifer, and a cone-bearing tree that grows 50 to 70 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide. Old trees develop a wide, spreading base that narrows up the trunk with diameters as thick as 3 to 6 feet. A younger tree typically has a pyramidal habit; however, older specimens have an irregular flat top. It is one of the longest living trees in the world and its rings hold years of climate data. Although it looks like a needled evergreen in summer, it is deciduous or "bald" as the common name suggests. It is native to southern swamps, bayous, and rivers, primarily being found in coastal areas from Maryland to Texas and in the lower Mississippi River valley to as far north as the southeast corner of Missouri. In the deep South, it is a familiar sight growing directly in swampy water, often in large stands, with its branches heavily draped with Spanish moss. In cultivation, however, it grows very well in drier, upland soils.

The genus name, Taxodium, is Greek and means "yew like." This references a family of trees known for their hardwood. The epithet, distichum, means 'two ranked," meaning the leaves grow in two rows.

The bald cypress is easily grown in average, medium to wet, moisture-retentive but reasonably well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. It prefers moist, acidic, sandy soils but tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, from somewhat dry soils to wet soils in standing water. This species has been known to tolerate flooded conditions for extended periods. The bald cypress is a low-maintenance tree with easy fall cleanup. It has a large taproot and is slightly salt tolerant.

Previously known as: Taxodium distichum var. distichum.

Identification

The leaves are small, linear, 1/4 to 3/4 inches long with flat needles in two ranks on each branchlet. It is soft, feathery, yellowish green in the spring, sage green in summer, and orange/cinnamon-brown in the fall. Branchlets fall to the ground, leaves still attached, soon after.

The bark is a fibrous, dark red-brown to gray with many thin, vertical exfoliating strips. Trunks are flared or fluted (buttressed) at the base. In water, they develop knobby root growths ("knees") which protrude above the water surface.

The male flowers appear in long drooping panicles. The female blooms appear at the end of the branches. They bloom from March to April.

The cones on the bald cypress are round, wrinkled, 3/4 to 1-inch in diameter, and purplish green that matures to brown. The scales are thick and irregular. Each tree produces either male cones (pollen-bearing) or female cones (seed-bearing). The cones are pollinated by the wind in the spring. Displays in October.

Habitat and cultural conditions

Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours). Soil texture: Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand. Soil pH: Acid (<6.0). Drainage: Good Drainage; Moist; Occasionally Wet.

Uses and significance

The heavy, straight-grained, rot-resistant wood has been used for various purposes, including barrels, railroad ties, and shingles. The sapwood is cream-colored while the heartwood is brown.

The wood is used for construction, flooring, cabinetry, and fences. It improves water quality while providing flood control in wet areas. Native Americans used the bark for string and rope. Others used the wood to make canoes or houses.

Wood ducks eat the seeds, as well as wild turkey, evening grosbeak, squirrels, waterfowl, and wading birds. Older trees form natural hollows and catamites that are used as cover by wildlife. Cyprus domes provide cover and breeding sites for frogs, toads, salamanders, and catfish. Spanish moss is often found hanging on the branches and provides food for Yellow-throated warblers.

Insects, diseases, and other problems

Twig blight is an occasional disease pest. Chlorosis often occurs in alkaline soils.

Cultivars / varieties

• 'Cascade Falls' — Compact, weeping habit.
• 'Codys Feathers'
• 'Falling Waters'
• 'Green Whispers' — pyramidal tree, 55 feet tall, and 30 feet wide
• 'Imbricarium Prairie Sentinel'
• 'Jims Little Guy'
• 'Lindsey's Skyward' — tree, narrow, columnar, 25 feet tall and 10 feet wide
• 'Monarch of Illinsis'
• 'Nutans'
• 'Peve Minaret' — dwarf shrub, 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide, fern-like leaves
• 'Peve Yellow'
• 'Secrest' — dwarf shrub, low and spreading habit, slow growing
• 'Shawnee Brave'
• 'The Senator'
• var. imbricarium — "Pond Cypress". Awl-like leaves close to the stem. Greyer bark. Grows in ponds.
• var. mexicana — Broadly spreading, branches slightly bowed, with long, arching shoots

Plant details

Further reading

• N.C. Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Taxodium distichum — primary source for the plant details above