Bald Cypress

It is a native specie to the marshy zones of the south of USA that reaches a height of almost 45m and produces a soft less frequent wood, with a characteristic acrid smell.

When its heartwood is wet, dark red or almost, is less durable, thus it is especially adequate for casks, barrels, water deposits, greenhouses and fences. In humid places it forms a great number of radicular protuberances, called "pneumotoforos" that facilitate the aeration of its drown roots.

It is one of the few caducous conifers; ornamental exquisite specie whose general aspect is similar to the Metasequoia, with an autumnal brown-reddish color which makes it especially showy in southern zones.

The green foliage is formed by twigs of the fern type, of narrow linear leaves of 12x2 mm, alternatively placed in all the alternate stalks over the branches. On the lateral twigs the leaves form two flat rows, while on the terminals are helicoidally distributed: both are born early in spring.

The male flowers form catkins, generally in groups of two or three, green and 5-7cm first, but then they grow to 8-12cm before releasing pollen they turn purple; the female flowers are like green little balls of bracts and scales. The cones are spherical, of 3-3cm diameter, with a few quite big scales with green thick edges that when ripening they turn brown-purple.

The bark is brown-reddish with numerous fissures and the trunk often has big spurs.

Encyclopedia BLUME, Trees, wood and forests of the world, H. Edlin/M.Nimmo, page 98.