Bald Cypress Tree

Description:

Taxodium distichum is the scientific name for a Bald Cypress Tree. Louisiana designated the bald cypress tree as the official state tree in 1963. The reason they are called "bald" cypress trees is because they lose there needles in the fall giving them a bald affect. Most of the time when you see a bald cypress tree they are covered in spanish moss. Bald cypress trees also have fruit on them, the fruit is a rounded cone, or ball, about one inch in diameter. The outside is covered in irregular polygon-shaped scales. The seeds are contained inside and are irregularly shaped.Old growth cypress trees once reached heights of 80-130 feet and had diameters of 8-13 feet.

Habitat:

Bald Cypress Trees grow near any water that flows at a slow to moderate rate. They can grow in almost any soil. Most bald cypress tress can be found in swamps, such as in the Atchafalaya or in Lake Martin, which is located in Breaux Bridge.