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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Taxodium''
| image = Taxodium distichum NRCSMS01010.jpg
| image_width = 270px
| image_caption = Bald Cypress forest <br>in a central [[Mississippi]] lake
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Pinophyta]]
| classis = [[Pinophyta|Pinopsida]]
| ordo = [[Pinales]]
| familia = [[Cupressaceae]]
| genus = '''''Taxodium'''''
| genus_authority = [[Louis Claude Richard|Rich.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Taxodium ascendens]]'' - Pond Cypress<br/>
''[[Taxodium distichum]]'' - Bald Cypress<br/>
''[[Taxodium mucronatum]]'' - Montezuma Cypress
}}
'''''Taxodium''''' is a [[genus]] of one to three [[species]] (depending on [[taxonomy|taxonomic]] opinion) of extremely flood-tolerant [[conifer]]s in the cypress family, [[Cupressaceae]]. It is one of several genera in the family that are commonly known as "cypresses". Within the family, ''Taxodium'' is most closely related to [[Glyptostrobus|Chinese Swamp Cypress]] (''Glyptostrobus pensilis'') and [[Cryptomeria|Sugi]] (''Cryptomeria japonica'').
Species of ''Taxodium'' occur in the southern part of the [[North America]]n continent and are [[deciduous]] in the north and semi-evergreen to [[evergreen]] in the south. They are large [[tree]]s, reaching 30-45 m tall and 2-3 m (exceptionally 11 m) trunk diameter. The needle-like [[leaf|leaves]], 0.5-2 cm long, are borne spirally on the shoots, twisted at the base so as to appear in two flat rows on either side of the shoot. The [[conifer cone|cones]] are globose, 2-3.5 cm diameter, with 10-25 scales, each scale with 1-2 [[seed]]s; they are mature in 7-9 months after pollination, when they disintegrate to release the seeds. The male (pollen) cones are produced in pendulous racemes, and shed their pollen in early spring.
== Species ==
The three [[taxon|taxa]] of ''Taxodium'' are treated here as distinct species, though some [[botanist]]s treat them in just one or two species, with the others considered as varieties of the first described. The three are distinct in [[ecology]], growing in different environments, but hybridise where they meet.
*''[[Taxodium distichum]]'' - '''Bald Cypress'''
The most familiar species in the genus is the Bald Cypress, native to much of the southeastern [[United States]], from [[Delaware]] to [[Texas]] and inland up the [[Mississippi River]] to southern [[Indiana]]. It occurs mainly along rivers with silt-rich flood deposits.
*''[[Taxodium ascendens]]'' - '''Pond Cypress'''
The Pond Cypress occurs within the range of Bald Cypress, but only on the southeastern coastal plain from [[North Carolina]] to [[Louisiana]]. It occurs in still [[Blackwater (river)|blackwater]] rivers, ponds and swamps without silt-rich flood deposits.
*''[[Taxodium mucronatum]]'' - '''Montezuma Cypress'''
The Montezuma Cypress occurs from the [[Rio Grande]] south to the highlands of southern [[Mexico]], and differs from the other two species in being substantially evergreen. A specimen at Santa Maria del Tule in [[Oaxaca (state)|Oaxaca]], the [[Árbol del Tule]], is 43 m tall and has the greatest trunk thickness of any living tree, 11.42 m in diameter. It is a riparian tree, occurring on the banks of streams and rivers, not in swamps like the Bald and Pond cypress.
== Uses ==
[[Image:Cypress knee 6016.JPG|thumb|left|Cypress knees at low water, Wee Tee Lake, SC]]
The trees are especially prized for their [[wood]], of which the ''heartwood'' is extremely rot and termite resistant, with the notable exception of the host-specific [[Pecky Rot fungus]] (''Stereum taxodii''), which causes some damaged trees to become hollow and thus useless for timber. "A biochemical called cypressene is believed to act as a natural preservative in the heartwood, but it takes many decades to build up in the wood, making lumber cut from old-growth trees much more resistant to decay than lumber from younger trees". - Sternberg, G., ''Native Trees for North American Landscapes'' pp. 476. Bald Cypress wood was much used in former days in southeastern US for shingles. The shredded [[bark]] of these trees is used as a [[mulch]], although the current harvest rate for this product is not sustainable and is causing substantial [[natural environment|environment]]al damage especially in the south where cutting boundaries are not being followed.
== External links and references ==
*[http://www.conifers.org/cu/tax/index.htm Gymnosperm Database - Taxodium]
*[http://www.audubon.org/local/sanctuary/corkscrew/ Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary website]
*National Audubon Society, undated. ''Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. A Companion Field Guide''. Artype Inc., Ft. Myers. 25 p.
*[[Guy Sternberg|Sternberg, G.]], (2004) ''Native Trees for North American Landscapes'' pp. 476. Timber Press, Inc.
[[Category:Cupressaceae]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Taxodium''
| image = Taxodium distichum NRCSMS01010.jpg
| image_width = 270px
| image_caption = Bald Cypress forest <br>in a central [[Mississippi]] lake
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Pinophyta]]
| classis = [[Pinophyta|Pinopsida]]
| ordo = [[Pinales]]
| familia = [[Cupressaceae]]
| genus = '''''Taxodium'''''
| genus_authority = [[Louis Claude Richard|Rich.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Taxodium ascendens]]'' - Pond Cypress<br/>
''[[Taxodium distichum]]'' - Bald Cypress<br/>
''[[Taxodium mucronatum]]'' - Montezuma Cypress
}}
'''''Taxodium''''' is a [[genus]] of one to three [[species]] (depending on [[taxonomy|taxonomic]] opinion) of extremely flood-tolerant [[conifer]]s in the cypress family, [[Cupressaceae]]. It is one of several genera in the family that are commonly known as "cypresses". Within the family, ''Taxodium'' is most closely related to [[Glyptostrobus|Chinese Swamp Cypress]] (''Glyptostrobus pensilis'') and [[Cryptomeria|Sugi]] (''Cryptomeria japonica'').
Species of ''Taxodium'' occur in the southern part of the [[North America]]n continent and are [[deciduous]] in the north and semi-evergreen to [[evergreen]] in the south. They are large [[tree]]s, reaching 30-45 m tall and 2-3 m (exceptionally 11 m) trunk diameter. The needle-like [[leaf|leaves]], 0.5-2 cm long, are borne spirally on the shoots, twisted at the base so as to appear in two flat rows on either side of the shoot. The [[conifer cone|cones]] are globose, 2-3.5 cm diameter, with 10-25 scales, each scale with 1-2 [[seed]]s; they are mature in 7-9 months after pollination, when they disintegrate to release the seeds. The male (pollen) cones are produced in pendulous racemes, and shed their pollen in early spring.
== Species ==
The three [[taxon|taxa]] of ''Taxodium'' are treated here as distinct species, though some [[botanist]]s treat them in just one or two species, with the others considered as varieties of the first described. The three are distinct in [[ecology]], growing in different environments, but hybridise where they meet.
*''[[Taxodium distichum]]'' - '''Bald Cypress'''
The most familiar species in the genus is the Bald Cypress, native to much of the southeastern [[United States]], from [[Delaware]] to [[Texas]] and inland up the [[Mississippi River]] to southern [[Indiana]]. It occurs mainly along rivers with silt-rich flood deposits.
*''[[Taxodium ascendens]]'' - '''Pond Cypress'''
The Pond Cypress occurs within the range of Bald Cypress, but only on the southeastern coastal plain from [[North Carolina]] to [[Louisiana]]. It occurs in still [[Blackwater (river)|blackwater]] rivers, ponds and swamps without silt-rich flood deposits.
*''[[Taxodium mucronatum]]'' - '''Montezuma Cypress'''
The Montezuma Cypress occurs from the [[Rio Grande]] south to the highlands of southern [[Mexico]], and differs from the other two species in being substantially evergreen. A specimen at Santa Maria del Tule in [[Oaxaca (state)|Oaxaca]], the [[Árbol del Tule]], is 43 m tall and has the greatest trunk thickness of any living tree, 11.42 m in diameter. It is a riparian tree, occurring on the banks of streams and rivers, not in swamps like the Bald and Pond cypress.
== Uses ==
[[Image:Cypress knee 6016.JPG|thumb|left|Cypress knees at low water, Wee Tee Lake, SC]]
The trees are especially prized for their [[wood]], of which the ''heartwood'' is extremely rot and termite resistant, with the notable exception of the host-specific [[Pecky Rot fungus]] (''Stereum taxodii''), which causes some damaged trees to become hollow and thus useless for timber. "A biochemical called cypressene is believed to act as a natural preservative in the heartwood, but it takes many decades to build up in the wood, making lumber cut from old-growth trees much more resistant to decay than lumber from younger trees". - Sternberg, G., ''Native Trees for North American Landscapes'' pp. 476. Bald Cypress wood was much used in former days in southeastern US for shingles. The shredded [[bark]] of these trees is used as a [[mulch]], although the current harvest rate for this product is not sustainable and is causing substantial [[natural environment|environment]]al damage especially in the south where cutting boundaries are not being followed.
== External links and references ==
*[http://www.conifers.org/cu/tax/index.htm Gymnosperm Database - Taxodium]
*[http://www.audubon.org/local/sanctuary/corkscrew/ Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary website]
*National Audubon Society, undated. ''Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. A Companion Field Guide''. Artype Inc., Ft. Myers. 25 p.
*[[Guy Sternberg|Sternberg, G.]], (2004) ''Native Trees for North American Landscapes'' pp. 476. Timber Press, Inc.
[[Category:Cupressaceae]]
