Cypress Trees

Cypress trees are relatives of the ancient redwoods and sequoias of California and are common in Southern Swamps in the USA along the Gulf Coast and Lower Mississippi, Florida, The Carolinas, and more. They also reach as far north as southern Indiana near the Wabash River.

Note: Southern Indiana once had tens of thousands of acres of bald cypress trees, but farming and river dams have taken their toll. In 1987 Twin Swamps Nature Preserve was set aside to help save one of Indiana’s last stands of bald cypress tree.

Cypress swamps are forested wetlands dominated by cypress trees. They are located along rivers and streams, springs, ponds, or slow moving water. Swamps can often have long periods of flooding but the cypress tree is the most flood-tolerant of all tree species.

There are 14 species of cypress found throughout the world including China, Japan, Tasmania, Formosa, and North America.

The unusual "knees" of the bald cypress are distinctive. The roots send up knobby extensions that protrude from the water, sometimes taking odd shapes and appearing like knights or kings. The biological function of these knees are still a mystery but are reported to serve to supply oxygen to the roots of the trees and also anchor and support the tree in an unstable environment. The knees are a part of the root system which grows above the soil and can reach heights of several feet.