It’s no coincidence why the bald cypress mangrove is Louisiana’s state tree. The trees’ resilience and steadfastness are perfect representations of both the land and the people. There are a multitude of reasons why these trees are so important to our ecosystem. Firstly, the intricate root network of these mangroves greatly increases the stability of the soil. Secondly, the bald cypress naturally provides shelter to both birds and various marine organisms. Thirdly, due to the mangrove’s extensive root system, it absorbs the shock of brutal tidal surges from storms, preventing the land from washing away. When planted together in rows, mangroves can create a natural protective barrier from high winds and coastal flooding. The combined effects of mangrove propagation not only provide shoreline protection but also fosters a healthy ecosystem.  

Description

Although many conifers are evergreen, bald cypress trees are deciduous conifers that shed their needlelike leaves in the fall. In fact, they get the name “bald” cypress because they drop their leaves so early in the season. Their fall colors are tan, cinnamon, and fiery orange. The bark is brown or gray with a stringy texture. Young trees have pyramidal (pyramid-shaped) crowns, but these even off to a columnar shape in adulthood. Branches are often draped with clumps of Spanish moss. The feature that bald cypresses are really known for, though, is their “knees.” These aren’t like human knees, but a special kind of root. The technical term for the knee is pneumatophore, which means “air-bearing.”

Pneumatophores grow from horizontal roots just below the surface and protrude upward from the ground or water. Since bald cypresses often grow in swampy conditions, it’s thought that the pneumatophores function to transport air to drowned roots underground. They also might help to anchor the tree. Growing up to 120 feet (36.5 meters) tall with a trunk three to six feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters) in diameter, bald cypresses are frequently referred to as giants. (They can’t quite compare to their redwood relatives, though, which reach over 300 feet [91 meters] in height.)

Life History

Bald cypress cones don’t actually look like cones at all. Their cone structure is round and about one inch (2.5 centimeters) in diameter. When cones appear in autumn, they are tough and green, but they become woody as the season progresses. Each cone is made of a number of scales, and each scale is associated with two triangular seeds. Seeds are eaten by wild turkey, wood ducks, evening grosbeak, water birds, and squirrels. The seeds that escape predation are dispersed by floodwaters. Bald cypresses are slow-growing, long-lived trees that regularly reach up to 600 years in age.

Conservation

Bald cypress trees are valued for the rot-resistant heartwood of mature trees, so they have been widely used to make fence posts, doors, flooring, caskets, cabinetry, boats, and more. However, these days they are harvested less for timber because they are slow-growing, and there are less of them than there once were. Another reason is these trees usually grow in wetlands, which causes difficulty for loggers.

Bald cypresses have very important roles in the wild. Since they tend to grow along rivers and in wetlands, they are excellent at soaking up floodwaters and preventing erosion. They also trap pollutants and prevent them from spreading. Frogs, toads, and salamanders use bald cypress swamps as breeding grounds. Wood ducks nest in hollow trunks, catfish spawn in the submerged hollow logs, and raptors like bald eagles nest in the treetops.

Range

The bald cypress is a native tree to the southeastern United States that grows in the Mississippi Valley drainage basin, along the Gulf Coast, and up the coastal plain to the mid-Atlantic states. Bald cypresses are well-adapted to wet conditions along riverbanks and swamps. They are also found in dry areas and are frequently planted as ornamental trees.