Bald Cypress

(Taxodium distichum)
The Cypress Family (Cupressaceae)

A large, deciduous, aquatic conifer with a swollen, ridged trunk at the base. The roots often send up cone-shaped knees surrounding the tree. Bald Cypress has a crown of widely spreading branches and red-brown to silver exfoliating bark.

Habitat: 

Wet sites such as edges of bayous and lakes. Also planted in many drier sites.

Interesting Facts: 

The state tree of Louisiana, Bald Cypress is called the wood eternal because of the heartwood’s resistance to decay. It has the largest trunk diameter (to over 17’) of all eastern trees and is the longest living tree species in the eastern U.S. with oldest cypress recorded at 1,622 years.

Fruit: 
A round cone .75 - 1” wide; brown with thick fused wrinkled scales.
Flower: 
Male and female flowers are borne separately on the same tree. Male flowers are drooping, tassel-like 4-6” long. Female flowers are inconspicuous and composed of several spirally arranged, overlapping scales.
Wildlife value: 
Attracts birds for cover, nesting and food. It is a larval host and nectar source for the Baldcypress Sphinx Moth.
Flowers
Fruit
Cypress Knee
Leaf type: 
Needlelike
Pollinator: 
Wildlife value: 
Tree dimensions: 

Leaf length: 0.38-0.75 inches
Tree height: 100.00-150.00 feet
PDF link: 
PDF icon XF60 32448 JM #35 B_ARBO Bald Cypress.pdf

Where to find Bald Cypress on the Louisiana State Arboretum Trails:

WET - Wetland Trail 9.0

BCY - Bald Cypress Loop 5.0

Refer to our Live Map to locate this species and its interpretative signage on the trail system.