My first exposure to the bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, was when I took a boat tour of Cypress Gardens in Berkeley County, South Carolina. There, I saw a forest of bald cypress trees, draped in Spanish moss and standing in water and muck. Many cypress root “knees”, or pneumatophores, rose above the surface around the trees. Recently, I was surprised to find bald cypress trees growing at the campus where I work, on dry ground. Because I assumed these 
conifers were evergreen, I was even more surprised when these already attractive trees turned a beautiful bronze and began to lose their foliage. That’s when I learned that the tree is named for this feature that is odd for conifers, to lose foliage and become “bald”.
Bald cypress trees are often the largest and oldest trees in an area. This is not surprising, considering the tree’s genus, Taxodium, includes the sequoia and metasequoia. The bald cypress is not a true cypress in the genus Cupressus, but is in the same family, Cupressaceae. The 2013 Atlanta Champion bald cypress in Atlanta Memorial Park has circumference 9.9 ft., height 132.2 ft., and spread 40.0 ft. The 2010 
Georgia Forestry Commission champion in Bullock County, Georgia, which is probably also the national champion, has circumference 25 ft., height 147 ft., and spread 94 ft. A tree once grew in Longwood, Florida that was even taller. It had a height of 165 feet in 1925 when a hurricane damaged it. Called ‘The Senator’, it was estimated to be 3,500 years old when it was burned down in 2012 by a meth addict. It was one of the oldest trees in the world.
The bald cypress is a deciduous conifer, with soft, feathery needles. It grows at a medium rate, about 13 to 24 inches per year. This native tree’s natural range is from Delaware’s Atlantic coastal plain to south 
Florida, and westward along the gulf coast plain to southeastern Texas. It also grows inland up the Mississippi river. In these areas, they generally grow where most trees can’t compete, in water or soggy ground. But they can also grow on dry sites and withstand temperatures below -20 degrees F. They can survive almost anywhere they can get adequate sunlight, after care is taken in the first year’s growth.
The trunk of a bald cypress growing in or near water widens in a cylindrical or fluted manner at the bottom, and this buttresses it for stability. Roots form 
cypress “knees”, or pneumatophores, which can stick out of the water several inches or several feet. Though the knees have been thought to help the roots breathe in their submerged environment, if the knees are cut to below water level, the tree is not affected. It is now thought that the clustered and intertwined roots and knees serve as anchors and buttresses for the tree, to help it remain upright in soft ground and in high winds. These trees have been observed to be very resistant to damage from high winds. Whether a bald cypress grows knees or not is determined by the soil moisture level. Those grown in well-drained and dry sites do not tend to produce
knees.
Bark on a bald cypress is reddish brown in color, but it can be grey where most exposed to the weather. The bark is thin and fibrous, with a stringy texture. It has a vertical interwoven pattern of shallow ridges and narrow furrows. It peels over time, and has an appearance resembling the eastern redcedar. The tree’s leaves are bi-pinnately compound, appearing much like feathers. Leaves are arranged alternately in two ranks along twigs. They are made up of soft, feathery needles that are flat blades ½ to ¾ inches long, and less than 1/10 inches wide. These needles are arranged in pairs along slender 
branchlets. Needle color ranges from yellow-green in spring to soft green in summer. Color underneath is lighter. Fall color is orangish- to reddish-brown. Needles on the trees at work began turning in mid-November, and began dropping soon after.
In March or April, male catkins appear as drooping panicles of tiny, purple flowers that may be 10 inches long. Female flowers are found on separate branches, resembling small green pine cones. These conelets consist of 9 to 15 overlapping scales. When pollinated by the wind, each scale produces 1 or 2 triangular seeds. The conelets are round green 
balls that are an inch or larger, and they appear ornamented with curving grooves. They would look nice as Christmas ornaments, but over time the conelets dry and turn brown. They fall apart, releasing the seeds. If you break a dry cone apart, you will also find a reddish sticky resin that has a pine scent. To germinate, seeds must remain submerged or stay in a wet environment for one to three months to soften. When no longer submerged, seeds may germinate but must remain moist and not submerged for about a year, until established. Once established, trees may be transplanted away from the wet environment. These trees can withstand dry and even drought conditions.
The bald cypress has had many uses. Sailors liked to collect water from bald cypress ponds for drinking use on ships, because the tannin in the water helped prevent it from going bad over long periods. Native Americans used the bark for making rope and string, and for making houses and canoes. Resin in the cones has been used as a healing balm for rashes and wounds. Because it is strong and heavy and resistant to rotting, shrinkage, and termites, it is a popular hardwood for lumber, outdoor construction, fences, shingles, furniture, and garden mulch. The bald cypress is an impressive ornamental frequently seen along waterways, in parks, lining streets, and in large residential and commercial areas. Because of 
heavy past use of this relatively slow-growing tree, bald cypress is now rarely harvested for timber. It is Louisiana’s state tree.
I found bald cypress trees in South Carolina growing in water, and near Atlanta growing on dry land. Now, through the internet, I have found a perfectly preserved bald cypress forest 15 miles due south of Gulf Shores, Alabama in the Gulf of Mexico. 
They were buried there 60,000 years ago, and uncovered by a recent hurricane. This forest grew on ice age land that once extended much further into the gulf, in fresh water. Wow. The bald cypress is a truly remarkable tree.
