Taxodium
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Lynches River, Johnsonville, South Carolina | ||||||||||||
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Taxodium ascendens - Pond Cypress
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Taxodium is a genus of one to three species (depending on taxonomic opinion) of coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae that grow in the southern part of the North American continent. They are most closely related to Chinese Swamp Cypress (Glyptostrobus pensilis) and Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica). The trees are deciduous in the north, semi-deciduous to evergreen in the south.
- Most familiar is the Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), also known as Southern Cypress or Swamp Cypress, is native to much of the southeastern U.S. The trees are called 'bald' because they lose their needles during the winter months, unlike other cypresses. Ancient Bald Cypress forests, with some trees over 1000 years old, once dominated swamps in the Southeast. The largest remaining stand of Bald Cypress is at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. These trees are around 500 years of age and reach heights exceeding 40m (130 ft). It occurs mainly along riverside wetlands subject to periodic flooding by silt-rich 'brownwater' rivers.
- The Pond Cypress (Taxodium ascendens or T. distichum var. imbricatum) is usually smaller than the Bald Cypress, and the bark is a lighter gray. The leaves are shorter, slenderer and are on shoots that tend to be erect rather than spreading. It occurs within the range of Bald Cypress, but only on the southeastern coastal plain. It differs in ecology, occurring mainly in still 'blackwater' ponds and swamps without silt-rich flood deposits.
- The Montezuma Cypress (Taxodium mucronatum or T. distichum var. mucronatum) from the Rio Grande south to the highlands of southern Mexico differs from the other two species in being substantially evergreen. A specimen at Santa Maria del Tule in Oaxaca has the greatest trunk thickness of any living tree, with this record specimen being 11.42m in diameter. It is a riparian tree, occurring on the banks of streams and rivers, not in swamps like the other two species.
Uses
The trees are especially prized for their wood, of which the heartwood is extremely rot and termite resistant. Bald Cypress wood was much used in former days in southeastern US for shingles. The shredded bark of these trees is a popular mulch, although the current harvest rate for this product is not sustainable and is causing substantial environmental damage.
External link and Reference