Botanical Name:

Taxodium distichum

Common Name:

baldcypress bald-cypress

Family Name:

Cupressaceae - cypress family

General Description:

Taxodium distichum is a large, stately deciduous conifer. It has a broad native range throughout parts of the Midwest and eastern United States. Its primary habitat is in swampy southern coastal areas where it forms large colonies dripping in Spanish moss. It is also native in the southern tip of Illinois where it grows along streams. The Illinois state champion baldcypress is located in the Cache River Basin along with some of the oldest species of this tree which are estimated to be 800 to 1000 years old. As a landscape plant, however, it has proven hardy as far north as Minnesota and southern Canada. It is planted in the Chicago area on large scale sites such as parks and arboreta but can be occasionally found in parkways and landscapes. In cultivation baldcypress grows equally well in wet or slightly dry soils provided the soils are not alkaline. In a high pH soil this tree may become chlorotic. There are many interesting cultivars mostly selected for variety in habit.

Zone:

4-11

Resources Consulted:

Brand, Mark. "Taxodium distichum:Common Baldcypress." U Conn Plant Database of Trees, Shrubs and Vines. U of Connecticut, 2001. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.

Davis, Becke. "ILCA Presents-Deciduous Conifers: In a Class by Themselves." Landscape Contractor June 2003: 29-36. Print.

Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses. Champaign: Stipes, 2009. Print.

"The PLANTS Database." USDA, NRCS. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA, 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.

Creator:

Julia Fitzpatrick-Cooper, Professor, College of DuPage

Creation Date:

2014

Keywords/Tags:

Pinaceae, tree, conifer, cone, needle, deciduous conifer, Taxodium distichum, baldcypress

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