TASMANNIA 



TAXODIUM 



1771 



ern greenhouses: Ivs. rather small, oblong to pblong- 

 lanceolate, usually obtuse, narrowed to a short petiole: 

 fls. %-\ in. across, in small, terminal clusters. Spring. 

 Tasmania. B.R. 31:43 (white, tinged pink). 



F. W. BARCLAY. 



TASSEL FLOWEK. See Km ilia flammed and Brick- 

 eUia. 



TAU-KOK BEAN. See Dolichos. 



TAXODIUM (alluding to the similarity of the foliage 

 to that ofTaxus). Glyptostrdbus, SchubMia. Conif- 

 erce. Tall ornamental deciduous or evergreen trees, 

 with distinctly 2-ranked, small, linear leaves and glo- 

 bose or ovoid cones not exceeding 1 in. .across. The 

 Bald Cypress, T. distichum, is well known in cultiva- 

 tion and is hardy as far north as New England. It is a 

 very desirable tree for park planting. Its light green 



2468. 



Variation in foliage of the common Dandelion. 

 All leaves drawn to the same scale. 



feathery foliage and the narrow pyramidal habit which 

 it usually retains in cultivation give it a very distinct 

 appearance. In its native habitat it forms in old age a 

 broad, round-topped head sometimes 100 ft. across and 

 has the trunk much enlarged at the base by huge, often 

 hollow buttresses projecting in all directions and termi- 



nating in long, horizontal roots. From these roots 

 spring the peculiar cypress knees, pyramidal protuber- 

 ances composed of a very light, soft, spongy wood and 

 spongy bark. These sometimes attain a height of 10 ft. 

 and with age usually become hollow. From the under 

 side of the horizontal roots large anchor-roots are sent 

 perpendicularly into the earth and help to anchor the 

 tree firmly in the swampy yielding soil. The knees are 

 believed by some to be formed for the purpose of 

 strengthening this root-system, since they are chiefly 

 found opposite to the anchor-roots, but their main pur- 

 pose is probably to bring air to the roots during the 

 several weeks or months when the swamps are covered 

 with water. The knees always grow high enough to rise 

 above the surface of the water (see, also, G.F. 3, p. 2, 

 21, 22, 57). 



The Bald Cypress thrives best in moist, sandy soil, 

 but usually also does well in drier situations. The habit 

 seems to depend somewhat on the degree of moisture; 

 in drier soil the head is more narrow-pyramidal, 

 in moist soil broader and more spreading. Prop- 

 agated by seeds sown in spring and the varieties 

 by grafting on seedling stock early in spring in 

 the greenhouse; also by cuttings in sand con- 

 stantly saturated with water or grown in water 

 alone, under glass. 



Three species in North America and China. 

 Lvs. alternate, linear, usually 2-ranked, falling 

 off in autumn or the second year together with 

 the short lateral branchlets : fls. monoecious, 

 small; staminate fls. catkin-like, consisting of 

 spirally arranged anthers, with 4-9 anther-cells 

 and forming terminal panicles; pistillate fls. soli- 

 tary or in pairs at the ends of branchlets of the 

 previous year, composed of imbricated scales 

 bearing two ovules inside at the base: cone glo- 

 bose or nearly so, maturing the first year, con- 

 sisting of spirally arranged woody scales en- 

 larged at the apex into an irregularly 4-sided disk 

 with a mucro in the middle and toward the base 

 narrowed into a slender stalk ; 2 triangular, 

 winged seeds under each scale; cotyledons 4-9. 



The Bald Cypress is one of the most valuable 

 timber trees of North America. The wood is 

 brown, light and soft, close and straight-grained, 

 but not strong; it is easily worked, durable in 

 the soil and much used for construction. 



distichum, Rich. (Cuprfssv* dis- 

 ticha, Linn. SelmMrtie distiiha, 

 Mirbel). BALD CYPRESS. DECIDUOUS 

 CYPRESS. Fig. 24G9. Tall, deciduous 

 tree, becoming 150 feet high, with a 

 buttressed trunk usually 4-5, but 

 sometimes attaining 12 ft. or more in 

 diameter, usually hollow in old age; 

 bark light cinnamon - brown, flaky; 

 branches erect or spreading, distich- 

 ously ramified, forming a narrow pyr- 

 amidal head, becoming at maturity 

 broad and rounded, with slightly pend- 

 ulous branches: Ivs. narrowly linear, 

 acute, thin, light green, K-% in. long: 

 panicles of the purplish staminate fls. 

 4-5 in. long: cone almost globose, 

 rugose, about 1 in. across and desti- 

 tute of mucros at maturity: seed % 

 in. long. March-May. Del. to Fla., 

 west to Mo. and Tex. S.S. 10:537. 

 G.F. 3:7; 10:125. G.C. II. 11:372; 18: 

 3G1; III. 7:325, 328; 14:659; 24:320. 

 Gng. 2:225; 5:1. G.M. 39:875. M 

 D.G. 1896:303. S.H. 2:541. -An inter- 

 esting natural variety is: 



Var. imbricarium,Nutt.( T.disticJiiim 

 Sin&nse ptndula, Lodd. T. distichum. 

 var. pendulum, Carr. Glyptostrbbus 

 ptndulns, Endl. O. Sintnsis, Hort.). 

 Smaller tree, with slender upright or often pendulous 

 branches clothed with spirally arranged, needle-shaped, 

 more or less upright and appressed Ivs. Occasionally 

 found wild with the type and often cultivated. B.M. 

 5603. F. 1871, p. 60. 

 A great number of garden forms have been described, 



