Taxodium Distichum
Common: Common bald cypress
Family: Taxodiaceae
Origin: Native American tree found along Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains, lower Mississippi valley, and bottomlands of large southern rivers
Light: Full sun or light shade
Water: Best growth on moist, rich soils. Does well in permanently wet areas of the landscape. Can tolerate dry soil. Commonly grows in swamps, along water courses, and in wetland areas.
Used as a specimen or in small groves, particularly in wet areas. Street tree. Makes dense screening and windbreak plant. Unusual and interesting tree often growing over 100 ft. in height. Broadtopped in the wild, but young and middle-aged trees are pyramidal. Twenty feet wide. Looks like an evergreen but is actually a deciduous tree and drops its leaves in the fall. Foliage is lacey and yellow-green, turning golden brown and then red before falling. Brown fibrous bark similar to that of cedars.
Good shade in summer and allows full sunlight after leaf fall in winter. No flowers, insignificant fruit. The wood of the bald cypress is fairly durable and has many uses in outdoor construction. Resins obtained from the cones have been used as an analgesic in fold remedies for skin diseases. A bald cypress is located near the Methodist Church parking lot, west of the Nursing Building.