Swamp Cypress

Twisted trunk

The bald cypress, which is native to southeastern North America, belongs to the small group of conifer trees that annually lose their leaves (needles) in winter such as the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) and the larch (Larix).

Bald cypress can grow up to 45 m in height and reach 1,000 years old. The trunk is reddish brown and is recognizable by it spiral twist. The fibrous bark also flakes off.

In the wild the bald cypress produces ‘cypress knees’ that might help the roots obtain oxygen. These projections appear around the tree growing up from the roots and can reach 1.5 - 2 m in height. The root network can become very deep and very wide, which prevents the tree from being blown over even when growing in the swampiest of soils.

In the Trompenburg Gardens in Rotterdam there is the bald cypress that dates from 1870. Taxodium distichum is the state tree of Louisiana.