Taxodium ascendens

Pond Cypress, White Cypress, Gulf Cypress, Southern Cypress, Red Cypress, Swamp Cypress, Yellow Cypress, Dwarf Cypress, Hat-rack Cypress

Pond Cypress is a deciduous conifer of our Southeastern states which roughly resembles (and is considered by some to be a variety of) Taxodium distichum, or Bald Cypress (See our entry for T. distichum). There are similarities between the two, such as their amazing soil moisture adaptability from standing water to upland, well drained soil and their outstanding rot-resistant heartwood. But Pond Cypress has a narrower crown than Bald Cypress, and is smaller; it is less likely than Bald Cypress to have knees; its fluted base tends to have rounded rather than sharp ridges; its branches are more ascending than those of Bald Cypress and its needle-like leaves are appressed rather than laterally oriented. Pond Cypress also is found growing more on the edges of ponds, rather than in the ponds. The distribution of Pond Cypress is far less widespread than that of Bald Cypress. Pond Cypress occurs in the southern portion of the range of Bald Cypress and only on the southeastern coastal plain from North Carolina into Louisiana, whereas Bald Cypress extends on into Texas and up the Mississippi Valley to Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. With its delicate foliage and light, dappled shade, its bright copper fall foliage, its pronounced verticality, its persistent fruits and showy winter trunk, this species could be used far more than it has been for its purely ornamental features.