Taxodium distichum (USA)

Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich., Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. 16: 298 1810. (Syn: Cuprespinnata disticha (L.) J. Nelson; Cupressepinnata disticha (L.) J. Nelson; Cupressus americana Catesby ex Endl.; Cupressus disticha L. ..; Cupressus laeta Salisb. [Illegitimate]; Cupressus montezumae Humb. & Bonpl. ex Parl.; Glyptostrobus columnaris Carrière; Schubertia disticha (L.) Mirb.; Taxodium ascendens var. nutans (Aiton) Rehder; Taxodium denudatum Carrière; Taxodium distichum (L.) Kunth ……; Taxodium knightii K.Koch; Taxodium pyramidatum Beissn.; Taxodium sinense Nois. ex Gordon [Illegitimate]; Taxodium distichum var. nutans Carrière) ;
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E. Central & SE. U.S.A.: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia; Introduced into: Argentina Northeast, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Uruguay as per POWO;

Taxodium distichum (bald cypress, baldcypress, bald-cypress, cypress, southern-cypress, white-cypress, tidewater red-cypress, Gulf-cypress, red-cypress, or swamp cypress) is a deciduous conifer that grows on saturated and seasonally inundated soils of the Southeastern and Gulf Coastal Plains of the United States.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

It is a large tree, reaching 25–40 m (rarely 44 m) tall and a trunk diameter of 2–3 m, rarely to 5 m. The bark is gray-brown to red-brown, shallowly vertically fissured, with a stringy texture. The leaves are born on deciduous branchlets that are spirally arranged on the stem, but twisted at the base to lie in two horizontal ranks, 1–2 cm long and 1–2 mm broad; unlike most other species in the family Cupressaceae, it is deciduous, losing its leaves in the winter months, hence the name ‘bald’. It is monoecious. Male and female strobili mature in about 12 months; they are produced from buds formed in the late fall, with pollination in early winter. The seed cones are green maturing gray-brown, globular, and 2-3.5 cm in diameter. They have from 20 to 30 spirally arranged, four-sided scales, each bearing one or two (rarely three) triangular seeds. The number of seeds per cone ranges from 20 to 40. The cones disintegrate when mature to release the large seeds. The seeds are 5–10 mm long, the largest of any species in the cypress family, and are produced every year, but with heavy crops every three to five years. The seedlings have three to 9 (most often six) cotyledons.^[2]

The main trunks are surrounded by cypress knees.

This species is a popular ornamental tree, grown for its light, feathery foliage and orange-brown to dull red fall color. In cultivation, it thrives on a wide range of soils, including well-drained sites where it would not grow naturally due to the inability of the young seedlings to compete with other vegetation.

Cultivation is successful far to the north of its native range, north to southern Canada. It is also commonly planted in Europe, Asia and elsewhere with temperate to subtropical climates. It does, however, require hot summers for good growth; when planted in areas with cool summers oceanic climates, growth is healthy but very slow (some in northeastern England have only reached 4–5 m tall in about 50 years),^[25] and cones are not produced.

Bald cypress has been noted for its high merchantable yields.

(From Wikipedia on 22.12.13)
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Gymnosperm Fortnight: Taxodiaceae- Taxodium distichum from California-GS-49 : Attachments (4). 1 post by 1 author.

Taxodium distichum (L.) L. Rich.,

Deciduous tree with two types of leaves: spirally arranged awl-shaped up to 12 mm long, appressed and incurved; flat, linear, 2-ranked, spreading up to 20 mm long; cones up to 25 mm across.

Photographed from California