cypress
Bald cypress, grows to be a huge tree in Florida and the southeast. (Although it is reported as far north as New York (Kartesz, 1999).) It is commonly found growing in lakes, swamps, floodplains, and along streams (Wunderlin, 2003). Bald cypress occurs almost always (estimated probability 99%) under natural conditions in wetlands. Taxodium distichum leaves are linear, and spread on the branchlets, with branchlets spreading.
Pond cypress, doesn’t grow as tall or as robustly; it is the cypress of the Everglades. It commonly occurs in flatwood pond and lake margins throughout Florida and only in the southeastern coastal states (Wunderlin, 2003). Pond cypress leaves are awl-shaped, and press against the branchlets (appressed), with branchlets generally ascending. Taxodium ascendens occurs almost always under natural conditions in wetlands.
