Trees & woodland lore · Western North Carolina field companion
Bald cypress
Taxodium distichum
Leaves. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sunTreeworld Wholesale ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.
Adaptable native conifer for wet ground or lawns; knees are most likely in saturated sites.
Needles may look like paired rows, but their actual attachment is alternate. This distinction is more useful than overall feathery appearance.
More growing details
Read the bark
Fibrous reddish-gray bark and a broad, sometimes buttressed base are typical on older trees.
Fruit & seed
Rounded cones break apart into thick scales. Root knees may occur in wet sites but are not required.
Winter character
Bare fine branches and fibrous bark remain; check branchlet attachment rather than expecting knees.
Origin & place
Native chiefly to southeastern lowlands and swamps. Inland WNC specimens are commonly landscape plantings.
Compare with Dawn redwood
Dawn redwood has opposite leaves, buds, and small branchlets.
WNC Notes
Adaptable native conifer for wet ground or lawns; knees are most likely in saturated sites.
Sun Exposure
Full sun
MATURE HEIGHT (FT)
50–70
MATURE WIDTH (FT)
20–30
BLOOM SEASON
Spring
BLOOM COLOR
Inconspicuous
FALL / WINTER COLOR
Copper-orange
Wet-Soil Tolerance
Very high
Drought Tolerance
Moderate once established
LOOK CLOSELY
Two views, a closer look.
Place two photographs beside one another. Compare the overall plant with leaves, flowers, or bark when those views are available. Captions identify what each photograph actually shows. Images are not at the same scale; species references may show different cultivars.
Leaves. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sunTreeworld Wholesale ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.Bark — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sunCrusier ↗ · CC BY-SA 3.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.Cones — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sunSciadopitys from UK ↗ · CC-BY-SA 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.
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