Swamp Cypress

Swamp Cypress 

(Taxodium), a genus of coniferous woody plants, of the Taxodiaceae family. A tall tree with fissured bark. The female cones (strobiles) are rounded and sit singly at the ends of branches. The male strobiles are assembled on leafless twigs into paniculate inflorescences. Three species are known, distributed in the southeastern part of North America and in mexico. In the Upper Cretaceous and Paleogenic periods species of swamp cypress were distributed throughout the northern hemisphere. Most widely distributed is the common bald cypress (T. Distichum), which grows in swamps and along river-Banks. The tree can survive prolonged inundation because of the presence of special pneumatophores, which provide the underground roots with air. The swamp cypress has been cultivated in europe since the 17th century as a decorative plant. The wood possesses high mechanical qualities and is resistant to rot. In the USSR swamp Cypress is planted in the southwestern part of the Ukraine, in the caucasus, and in Middle Asia.

REFERENCES

Derev’ia i kustarniki SSSR, vol. 1. Moscow-Leningrad, 1949.
Takhtadzhian, A. L. Vysshie rasteniia, vol. 1. Moscow-Leningrad, 1956.
Osnovy paleontologii: Golos’emennye i pokrytosemennye. Moscow, 1963.