Bald cypress

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Bald cypress
Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)

Bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum )

Systematics
Class : Coniferopsida
Order : Conifers (Coniferales)
Family : Cypress family (Cupressaceae)
Subfamily : Taxodioideae
Genre : Bald cypress ( Taxodium )
Type : Bald cypress
Scientific name
Taxodium distichum
( L. ) Rich.

The bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum ), also Sumpfeibe called, is the better known of the two plant species from the kind of bald cypress trees leading to the family of the Cypress family belongs (Cupressaceae). It comprises two varieties that are clearly distinguishable from the external impression and were previously classified as two separate species. The by far better known variety Taxodium distichum var. Distichum is described here as common bald cypress ; the rarer variety Taxodium distichum var. imbricarium has the German name Aufrechte Sumpfzypresse and was previously called Taxodium ascendens .

description

The bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum var. Distichum ) is a deciduous tree. In autumn it not only sheds its needle leaves, but also whole twigs. The real bald cypress reaches heights of growth of up to 35 meters and a trunk circumference of a good 5 m. It can live to be over a thousand years old. Bald cypress trees grow rather slowly, with annual growth of more than 30 cm. The bark is pale reddish brown and has numerous vertical or helical furrows and fibers. The conical treetop has a rounded tip. The shoot begins very late and timidly in June with bluish green young shoots. The needle leaves are screwed in two rows on long shoots . The side branches are about 10 cm long and carry the 80 to 100 thin, about 10 mm long and about 2 mm wide alternate leaves. The leaves are fresh green when they shoot, later they darken significantly and each have two gray bands on the underside. The needled twigs are thrown off around the end of October and then have a fox-red to dark brown autumn color .

The real bald cypress is single sexed ( monoecious ). About 5 cm long male inflorescences are usually three to four at the branch tips already in winter, which stretch to a length of 8 to 10 cm in March and turn yellowish in April. The short stalked, about 3 cm long, spherical cones have few scales and a thorn in the middle and produce narrowly winged seeds.

Systematics

The species Taxodium distichum has two varieties:

  • Taxodium distichum var. Distichum , the bald cypress.
  • Upright bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum var. Imbricarium (Nutt.) Croom , Syn .: Taxodium ascendens Brogn. )

The two varieties clearly differ in several features; Typical of the upright bald cypress are the upright side branches and the leaves that sprout almost a month earlier, which remain fresh green, while in the real bald cypress they darken significantly over the course of the year.

The Mexican bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum var. Mexicanum (Carrière) Gordon ) is regarded as a possible third variety, but many authors also consider it to be a separate species, Taxodium mucronatum Ten. is described.

distribution

The areas of Taxodium distichum var. Distichum range from the southern United States to Mexico and Guatemala . Natural locations in the United States range from Delaware to Texas , along the Mississippi River, and northward into the state of Missouri . There it thrives in the humid lowlands of the Everglades and other periodically flooded locations. The bald cypress swamps of the Mississippi Delta are well known.

In the Tertiary , Taxodium distichum was also at home in Europe and, together with other trees, formed the basis of the lignite deposits in the Rhenish lignite district . The bald cypress is not uncommon in European gardens and parks . However, it needs warm summers to thrive.

Location

The bald cypress prefers moist soils, but it can also tolerate drought. It is often planted on the banks of water and often thrives standing up in shallow water, where it then forms distinctive breathing knees (pneumatophores), which are comparable in function to the buttress roots of tropical trees. The breathing knees are reminiscent of termite mounds and are up to 40 cm high. Inside, they contain a spongy fabric that promotes ventilation of the roots in the water. However, these roots should also serve to anchor the trees in the ground. It also comes in the formation of adventitious roots . As a park tree near the shore, the bald cypress was particularly preferred by Lenné in Germany . There are very beautiful old specimens at Lake Schwerin. They grow particularly well in the alder forest and show that the species tolerates the local climate very well. The valuable wood makes forestry use appear attractive.

See also

photos

swell

  • Christopher J. Earle: Taxodium distichum. In: The Gymnosperm Database. January 23, 2011, accessed October 20, 2011 .

Individual evidence

  1. Andreas Roloff (Ed.): Trees of North America: From alligator juniper to sugar maple. Wiley-VCH Verlag, Weinheim 2010, ISBN 978-3-527-32826-0 , p. 486. (online at: books.google.de )
  2. ^ Edward F. Gilman, Dennis G. Watson: Taxodium distichum - Bald cypress. on: forestry.ok.gov , October 1994. (PDF file, 188 kB, accessed on April 3, 2010)
  3. a b Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich. - Bald cypress. ( Memento from July 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at: boga.ruhr-uni-bochum.de
  4. Brown coal. In: Meyers Konversationslexikon from 1905. (online at: zeno.org )
  5. US Forest Service Silvics Manual: Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.Baldcypress (Engl.)

Web links

Commons : Bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files