[339] Taxodium ascendens, Pond Cypress
Introduction
Taxodium ascendens, the Pond Cypress (or Pondcypress), is a North American species of deciduous conifer grown in the UK as an ornamental tree. It is sometimes considered to be a variety of the species Taxodium distichum, the Bald Cypress or Swamp Cypress.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Plants
Division – Vascular Plants
Class – Pinopsida (Conifers)
Order – Pinales (Conifers)
Family – Cupressaceae (Cypress, Junipers and others)
Subfamily – Taxodioideae
Genus – Taxodium
Scientific Name – Taxodium ascendens, sometimes treated as a variety of Taxodium distichum
Name
Taxodium comes from the genus Taxus, [340] the Yew tree, coming next. Distichum means having two rows, from the arrangement of the leaves.
Description
Coming within the family Cupressaceae, the Pond Cypress is a relative of [190] Juniper. The needle-shaped leaves look very much like all the coniferous trees we have met but the shape of the tree is more like a typical deciduous tree.
Unlike most conifers, it is actually deciduous and the colours of the needles change throughout the year.
New needles appear each Spring and are initially a pale green colour. They gradually turn to darker green through the Summer before turning brown in the Autumn.
In the pictures below you can see long series of paired flat needles.
Habitat and use
Taxodium ascendens is native to the south-east of the USA and likes slow-moving swampy river environments that are found there.
They are prized for their timber, which contains a natural preservative. The wood from Taxodium was used historically in the USA for roof tiles.
The only specimens I have seen are beside constructed lakes.
Both Taxodium ascendens and Taxodium distichum are available as cultivated trees. They are probable not usually a garden species because of their preferred environment.
See also
The only relatively common tree in Britain that is a deciduous member of the coniferous group Pinales is [194] the Larch.
The Species of Britain 