CYPRESS. 



[54] 



Family: THE CONIFERS [Translator's note: now TAXODIACEAE] . 

 Reproductive system: MONCECY, MONADELPHY. 



The bald cypress, Cupressus disticha LINN., [Translator's note: now Taxodium 

 distichum] is a very tall tree with a trunk that attains a large diameter. In 1822 I measured 

 those at le Monceau planted by Duhamel in 1760 [Translator's note: near his family 

 estate at Denainvilliers] alongside a small stream. Just a foot above the ground the trunks 

 were eight feet in circumference. Dupraz, in his natural history of Louisiana, claims that 

 he measured some that were twelve brasses around [Translator's note: one brasse is 

 approximately 1.62 meters]. Exostoses, or protuberances that look much like posts, grow 

 up from their roots. The leaves consist of linear pointed leaflets that are distichous and 

 close together. They're renewed every year. The male flowers are in catkins that are 

 separate from the female ones. They have sessile anthers beneath each scale. The female 

 flowers form a rounded or an oblong cone consisting of a shield of scales that cover the 

 ovaries. The fruit is angular with no valves and with a single compartment. 



Among the plantings in the garden at Rambouillet I've observed two noteworthy 

 varieties of this tree, one with round fruit and the other with oval fruit. The latter is 

 distinguished by its finer and more elegant foliage, which has long been known and 

 illustrated. Both trees originated from seeds sent from America by Michaux Sr. 



FLOWERS: in May. 



RANGE: North America; acclimatized in our large parks for a long time. 



NOMENCLATURE. Disticha, because of the placement of the leaflets. English, 



deciduous cypress tree. 



