Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum)

About this specimen: It is pure serendipity that this bald cypress is flanked by dawn redwoods at 414 S. 24th St. and 2507 Waverly. Because these two species are often confused, this presents a wonderful opportunity to learn the differences between the two.

Leaf type: needle-shaped leaves about 1⁄2” long, soft and flexible, form feather pattern along two crowded rows. Green in summer turning to copper-colored in the fall.

Bark: smooth gray-brown (young) to fibrous, peeling reddish brown
Flowers: Male flowers have clusters of long, beady tassels that dance in the wind in late winter Fruit: 1/10” female conelets become 1” brown woody cones resembling miniature soccer balls Origin: native of American swamps and wetlands
Average mature size in city: 50 – 80’ tall, 20-30’ wide, 2-3’ thick

Other notable features: Like Dawn Redwoods, Bald Cypresses indeed go bald in winter as they are two of the few conifers to drop all leaves and twigs each year. Unlike Dawn Redwoods, though, a Bald Cypress in the wild will produce “knees,” underwater roots that break through the ground a few feet from the trunk. State tree of Louisiana.

In 1931, the fossilized stump of a bald cypress over 36,000 years old was unearthed 12 meters underground at 8th and Locust during excavations for a subway tunnel. Scientists hypothesized that the tree grew in a warm interglacial period and that meltwater from glacial ice flowing down the Delaware River inundated the swamp, burying it in sediment. Pieces of the fossil are on display at the Wagner Free Institute of Science of Philadelphia in North Philadelphia. The tree is one of the oldest symbols of grief. Ancient Greeks and Romans referred to the cypress as the “mournful tree” for this reason. Adherents of Christianity and Islam historically planted cypress near burial sites and cemeteries for protection.