NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Taxodium ascendens [Split from Taxodium distichum]

Pond Cypress

Scientific Name:	Taxodium ascendens [Split from Taxodium distichum]
Genus:	Taxodium
Species Epithet:	ascendens
Common Name:	Pond Cypress
Plant Type	Tree
Life Cycle	Perennial
Plant Family	Cupressaceae (Cypress Family)
Native/Alien:	NC Native
Size:	0-1 ft., 1-3 ft., 3-6 ft., 6-12 ft., 12-36 ft., 36-72 ft., 72-100 ft.
Bloom Color(s):	Brown
Light:	Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day
Soil Moisture:	Wet
Bloom Time:	March, April
Growing Area:	Sandhills, Coastal Plain
Habitat Description:	Limesink ponds (dolines), clay-based Carolina bays, wet savannas, pocosins and other wet, peaty habitats, shores of natural blackwater lakes, swamps of blackwater streams. Common in NC Coastal Plain.
Leaf Arrangement:	Alternate
Leaf Retention:	Deciduous
Leaf Type:	Leaves needle-like or scale-like
Leaf Form:	Simple
Life Cycle:	Perennial
Wildlife Value:	Has some wildlife value
Landscape Value:	Not Recommended for home landscapes
State Rank:	S4: Apparently secure ^(*Key)
Global Rank:	G5 - Secure ^(*Key)
Notes:	Taxodium distichum var. imbricarium - per Flora of North America NC State Extension "Thread-like soft, bright green needles with blue gray bloom; held upright; bright orange fall color"
Tree with cones Pond Cypress differs from Bald Cypress in having ascending twigs and leaves appressed to the twig or curving upward. Jack Spruill, June 2009, Little Alligator River, Tyrrell County
Seed cones Jack Spruill, June 2009, Little Alligator River, Tyrrell Co
Male and female cones The female cones are large (2 cm), green and spherical; male cones are small (2 mm), brown and in slender, drooping panicles. Jack Spruill, June 2009, Tyrrell Co.
Links:	USDA PLANTS Database Record Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center