Plant Identification Learning Module:
Ornamentals
Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum)
A large tree, growing to 150 feet. Leafy branchlets have tiny, simple, flat leaves (needles) growing at right angles on either side of the twig. Leaves are bright green in spring and coppery brown in fall. Trunks are buttressed (flared) at the bottom. Bark is gray, coarse, and peels in strips. On wet sites bald cypress forms aboveground structures known as “knees.” Form is pyramidal when young and irregular when mature. Cones are male or female, round to oval, green or brown, to 3 inches.
