Taxodium distichum
bald cypress
Cupressaceae
Plant Specifics
Form:
tree
Size:
50 - 75 ft tall by 30-45 ft wide
Life Span:
long-lived perennial
Flower Color:
Fruit Color:
brown
Phenology:
Deciduous. Very long-lived possibly exceeding 1000 yrs (Nelson 2003).
Noted For:
Hurricane Wind Resistance, Fall Color, Interesting Foliage
Landscaping
Recommended Uses:
Can be used as a specimen tree, planted in floodplain areas, or planted in relatively moist uplands. Large rain gardens and bioswales. Tolerant of root disturbance, so a candidate for use as a street/parking lot tree.
Considerations:
Can produce knees, even if grown in uplands.
Light:
Full Sun, Part Sun
Moisture Tolerance:
Stays wet ---- to ---- Somewhat moist, no flooding
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:
Unknown
Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
Soil or Other Substrate:
Sand, Clay, Loam, Organic
Suitable to Grow In:
8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B
Ecology
Wildlife:
Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals
Larval host for baldcypress sphinx ( Isoparce cupressi ) moth.
Attracts seed-eating birds. Valuable as roosting and nesting areas for colonial wading birds.
Native Habitats:
Riverine swamps, large swamps around lakes. Inundated areas associated with some form of flowing water. Floodplains, sloughs, strands. May be associated with a longer fire return interval than T. ascendens.
