| Pond cypress
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| Taxodium ascendens
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| Cupressaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Accent or specimen tree in wet soils. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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| Availability: |
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Commonly available at native plant nurseries in central Florida. Available at native plant nurseries in northeast and South Florida. Available at Indian Trails Native Nursery in Lake Worth (561-641-9488). |
| Description: |
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Small to large tree with an erect, straight trunk. Bark gray to brown, flaking in strips. Needles deciduous, thin, light green, almost always held flat against the twig. |
| Height: |
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Typically 10-80 feet in height in South Florida; to 115 feet in Florida. Usually taller than broad. |
| Growth Rate: |
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Moderate. |
| Range: |
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Eastern and southeastern United States west to Texas and south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland. |
| Habitats: |
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Freshwater swamps and marl prairies. |
| Soils: |
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Wet to moist, poorly-drained to moderately well-drained calcareous, sandy or organic soils, with or without humus. |
| Nutritional Requirements: |
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Moderate to high; grows best with some organic content and may languish in nutrient poor soils. |
| Salt Water Tolerance: |
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Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water. |
| Salt Wind Tolerance: |
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Low; salt wind may burn the leaves. |
| Drought Tolerance: |
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Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought. |
| Light Requirements: |
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Full sun. |
| Flower Color: |
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Green turning brown. |
| Flower Characteristics: |
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Cone. |
| Flowering Season: |
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Spring. |
| Fruit: |
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Cone. |
| Wildlife and Ecology: |
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Provides some food and moderate amounts of cover for wildlife. |
| Horticultural Notes: |
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Can be grown from seed soaked in water for 24-48 hours. |
| Comments: |
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Depending on nutrients and water availability, this can be a small tree or tree-like shrub or it can be a large tree. See a 2018 post on the Treasure Coast Natives blog on the galls created by the Cypress Twig Gall Midge on Pond Cypress. |
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