Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) - bark close up - October 2017
One of three Bald Cypress in the St Thomas park of Exeter, UK. === Although many conifers are evergreen, bald cypress trees are deciduous conifers that shed their needle-like leaves in the fall. In fact, they get the name “bald” cypress because they drop their leaves so early in the season. Their fall colors are tan, cinnamon, and fiery orange. The bark is brown or gray with a stringy texture. Young trees have pyramidal (pyramid-shaped) crowns, but these even off to a columnar shape in adulthood Bald cypresses are slow-growing, long-lived trees that regularly reach up to 600 years in age. Bald cypresses are well-adapted to wet conditions along riverbanks and swamps. They are also found in dry areas and are frequently planted as ornamental trees. Bald cypress is a non-native species and grows in the Mississippi Valley drainage basin, along the Gulf Coast, and up the coastal plain to the mid-Atlantic states. Bald cypress trees are valued for the rot-resistant heartwood of mature trees, and so they have been widely used to make fence posts, doors, flooring, caskets, cabinetry, boats, etc. However, they are not harvested for timber as much anymore because they are slow-growing and there aren’t as many of them left. Also, they usually grow in wetlands, which causes loggers much difficulty Bald cypress is the state tree of Louisiana. === Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Cupressaceae Genus: Taxodium Species: T. distichum Binomial name Taxodium distichum
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