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Cupressaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Taxodium distichum

Taxodium distichum

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthFast

Taxodium distichum is a plant of the temperate to tropical zones, growing at low elevations in the temperate zone but gradually ascending to around 2,000 metres or more as it moves into the tropics[1, 2, 3]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 30°c, but can tolerate 8 - 34°c[3]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -10°c or more depending on provenance, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[4, 3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 1,400mm, but tolerates 1,000 - 1,600mm[3]. Plants grow best in areas with warm summers[4]. Although this plant can be grown in wet soils and shallow water, it thrives in any soil and trees actually grow faster in normal unflooded soils[5]. Established plants succeed in standing water up to 90cm deep[6, 4] - in such a situation the roots develop 'knees', curious cone-shaped structures that grow above the ground[7]. Tolerates the high pH of chalk streams[4]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 4.5 - 8.5[3]. Tolerates atmospheric pollution[4]. Plants are tolerant of occasional very strong winds and are rarely blown over, even in a hurricane[8]. Taxodium distichum is divided into three distinct vars :- var distichum. The largest and hardiest form of the tree, with specimens up to 50 metres tall and, especially along the Mississippi Valley, tolerant of temperatures falling to around -30°c[9, 8]. Var imbricarium. Growing up to 30 metres tall, this form is restricted to southeastern N. America. Var mexicanum. Growing around 30 metres tall, this form is found from Texas southwards through Mexico to Guatemala. It is the least hardy form, and probably the best one if you want to grow it in more tropical climates. Swamp cypress is a fairly vigorous tree, it can grow up to 45cm in a year with up to 4cm increase in girth[10]. It has been planted for its timber in southern Europe, especially on alluvial soils[11]. Buds often begin to break in early spring, but trees do not come properly into leaf until early summer and growth in height rarely starts before early to mid summer[10]. Often grown as an ornamental, when planted on the shores of lakes and ponds it will often develop 100cm tall 'knees' from its root system along the water's edge, adding to the interest of this species. It also grows well on higher ground away from water, where 'knees' will not develop[2]. A very healthy species in Britain, rarely seen in anything but good health. It seems to be a very long-lived tree in this country with several specimens more than 250 years old[10]. Trees are thought to live for over 1,000 years in the wild[7]. Tree generally only produce fertile seeds after long hot summers[4]. The branches are brittle and subject to wind damage, but the tree usually recovers well[5]. Unlike most conifers, this species responds well to coppicing, even when old[5, 12].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. If sowing a lot of seed you could sow it in early spring in an outdoor seedbed[13]. Allow the plants to grow on in the seedbed for two years and then plant them into their permanent positions in late autumn or early spring. Cuttings of extension growths in the late summer root quite easily[6]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Taxodium+distichum>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  2. [2]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]Conifers. — Rushforth. K. · Christopher Helm · 1987 · ISBN 0-7470-2801-X ↩︎Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.
  6. [6]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  7. [7]Trees of North Texas — Vines. R.A. · University of Texas Press. · 1982 · ISBN 0292780206 ↩︎A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.
  8. [8]Silvics of North America. Agricultural Handbook No. 654. — Burns. R.M. & Honkala. B.H. · USDA Forest Service; Washington DC. · 1990 · http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/table_of_contents.htm ↩︎A very comprehensice guide to about 200 species of timber trees of N. America, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Mainly temperate species, plus a number of tropical species. It is downloadable from the Internet.
  9. [9]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  10. [10]Conifers in the British Isles. — Mitchell. A. F. · HMSO · 1975 · ISBN 0-11-710012-9 ↩︎A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.
  11. [11]Flora Europaea — ? · Cambridge University Press · 1964 · ISBN - ↩︎An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
  13. [13]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  14. [14]Manual of the Trees of N. America. — Sargent. C. S. · Dover Publications Inc. New York. · 1965 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ · ISBN 0-486-20278-X ↩︎Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader. It can be downloaded from the internet.
  15. [15]Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition — Fernald. M. L. · American Book Co.; New York · 1950 · ISBN 0442222505 ↩︎A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
  16. [16]Trees of Central Texas. — Vines. R. A. · University of Texas Press · 1987 · ISBN 0-292-78958-3 ↩︎A good concise guide, it gives details of habitats and some of the uses of trees growing in Texas.
  17. [17]Fire Effects Information System — http://www.feis-crs.org/feis/ ↩︎An on-line information site with comprehensive information on over 1,100 species of plant. Mainly developed to supply information on the effects of fire on plants and animals, it also contains a wealth of other information on the plants
  18. [18]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  19. [19]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  20. [20]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  21. [21]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  22. [22]Economic Botany. — Hill. A. F. · The Maple Press · 1952 · ISBN - ↩︎Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.