CON I FERAE 61 



to the plateau subdivision thereof. Its known distribution l)y coun- 

 ties is as follows : 



Franklin: Near Spruce Pine (named for this tree), on a tributary 

 of Big Bear Creek; and said by residents there to extend about twenty 

 miles down the creek. (See Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 33:524-525. 1906.) 



M.^RiON : Along Brush Creek at the great viaduct of the Illinois Cen- 

 tral R. R., and doubtless at various other places. 



Winston: Along Sipsey River and Clear Creek (Peters, Mohr), and 

 at the Natural Bridge. (See.Monog. 8, pp. 49, 136.) 



Tacksox : In the Pisgah "gulf" near the northwestern edge of Sand 

 Mountain. ( Harbison, Biltmore Bot. Stud. 1 :154. 1902.) 



Jefferson : Along Village Creek about 3 miles southwest of Adams- 

 ville. This seems to be its southernmost known station (see Torreya 

 19:198-199. Oct., 1919) though there is a later unconfirmed report of its 

 occurrence in Tuscaloosa County. 



TAXODIUM, Richard. The Cypresses. 



Taxodium distichum (L.) Richard. (River) Cypress. (Also 

 called white, yellow, red and black cypress, according to the 

 appearance of the wood.) 



(Map 9, Figs. 13. 14) 



A large deciduous tree, reaching in this state a diameter of 

 about five feet — above the enlarged base — and a height of 100 or 

 even 120 feet. It grows slowly, and lives for several hundred 

 years, something like its relatives the Sequoias of California, but 

 seems to reach its maximum height in about 100 years, after which 

 it becomes more and more flat-topped, giving it a characteristic 

 appearance by which it can often be recognized at a distance of 

 over a mile. The bark is thin and fibrous, something like that of 

 the cedar. The leaves are commonly arranged in two opposite rows 

 on short feather-like branchlets which fall with the leaves attached, 

 like compound leaves, in late fall. The wood is light and soft in 

 spite of its slow growth, but very durable, probably on account of 

 some chemical properties which resist bacteria. It blooms in Feb- 

 ruary and March, and ripens its seeds in the fall of the same year. 



Economically the cypress is a very important tree. Outside 

 of its natural range it is often planted in parks and streets, where 

 it grows very well in ordinary dry soil, and faster than in its native 

 haunts (l)ecause it is relieved from the competition of other trees). 

 It is said to be hardy as far north as Massachusetts in this country 



