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 PART 10— BALD CYPRESS 



TREES OF UNUSUALLY DURABLE WOOD 



The collection of Bald Cypress occupies the eastern end of the 

 long narrow planted area between the two roads in front of Con- 

 servatory Range 1. The collection is located on the west side of 

 the main drive after it enters the Garden from Southern Boulevard 

 and opposite the Ginkgos and beginning of Section 1 of the Pines 

 (Map p. 7). Nine trees constitute the group. They are 



Taxodium distichum, the Bald Cypress, and 

 Taxodium ascendens, the Pond Cypress 



These are the only conifers we have encountered so far in our 

 Guide that are not evergreen. They lose their leaves in the winter 

 and secure new ones each spring. Only three other genera of 

 conifers, two of which we shall meet later, do this. They are 

 Larix, the Larch, Pseudolarix, the Golden Larch, and Glypto- 

 strobus. The peculiar feature about this habit in the bald cypress 

 is that not only the delicate leaves are lost, but the slender twigs 

 that bear them fall off, carrying the leaves along. 



In the Bald Cypress these delicate leaves stand out in one plane 

 from two sides of the twigs. In the Pond Cypress, however, the 

 leaves are tiny and scale-like, closely pressed against the twigs, 

 which tend to stand erect. The result is a pronounced contrast in 

 the general appearance of the two trees. 



The Bald Cypress is not frequently seen in cultivation, though 

 it has proved hardy as far north as Massachusetts and has been 

 known to withstand temperatures twenty degrees below zero. It 

 is one of the best trees for wet situations, though it thrives in 

 ordinary soil. Its fine feathery foliage, particularly the new 

 growth in spring, is very attractive. 



The Bald Cypress is a native of the southern United States, 

 where it grows in swampy lands from Delaware to Florida and 

 west to southern Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas. It is the tree 

 that has given its name to the famous and possibly uncanny 

 Cypress swamps of the South, where it may reach a height of 

 150 feet. 



