Habitat

• native to southeastern United States primarily
• cold hardy in zone 5, perhaps warmer zone 4
• generally found in wet swampy areas, often in standing water

Habit and Form

• a deciduous conifer
• grows 50' to 70' tall
• pyramidal to conical, especially when young
• some older trees develop spreading, irregular, or almost flat-topped forms
• develops a buttressed trunk base
• root "knees" can form on older trees in wet sites
• branching more or less horizontal
• texture is medium-fine and airy

Summer Foliage

• leaves are deciduous
• stems are either persistent or deciduous
• persistent stems hold spirally-arranged needles and deciduous stems
• deciduous stems hold needles in 2-rankes and lack buds
• needle leaves are flattened, 0.33" to 0.75" long
• foliage emerges bright yellow-green and matures to a soft green
• leaves emerge late in the spring

Autumn Foliage

• fall color is usually quite attractive
• needles turn a warm, reddish brown color

Flowers

• monoecious
• make flowers in pendulous 4" to 5" clusters
• female flowers are cones
• bloom time is March and April

Fruit

• globe-shaped cones
• change from green to brown
• 0.5" to 1" diameter

Bark

• attractive
• reddish brown
• vertically fibrous and fissured
• exfoliates little

Culture

• full sun
• tolerant of permanently wet soils, but also tolerant of normal soils as long as they are not excessively dry
• prefers acidic soils
• relatively care-free
• transplant from container or B&B
• very tolerant of strong winds

Landscape Use

• as a lawn tree
• for shade
• for decoration
• useful is wet sites
• works well at pond edges
• shows well in groupings or groves
• airy foliage texture useful

Liabilities

• a number of diseases and insects can attack weakened trees
• typically trouble free
• perhaps spider mites pose the greatest threat in Connecticut

ID Features

• spiral leaf arrangement on most stems
• compare to Metasequoia glyptostroboides which has opposite leaf arrangement
• slender twigs with raised leaf scars
• "knees" on plants in wet sites
• buttressed trunks
• reddish brown bark
• airy foliage
• deciduous conifer
• conical habit

Propagation

• by seed
• by cuttings for cultivars

Cultivars/Varieties

'Fastigiata' - This selected form maintains a more narrow, columnar habit than the species.

'Monarch of Illinois' - A newer selection, this selection is most notable for its wide-spreading habit, to 90' tall with a spread of 70'. The width of this form is unusual, given the pyramidal-columnar habit of the species. It may, however, express higher susceptibility to mites than other new selections, such as 'Shawnee Brave'.

'Pendens' - Occasionally offered by specialty nurseries, this old form differs mainly in its drooping branch tips. The overall form is pyramidal, with horizontal primary limbs.

'Shawnee Brave' - The narrow, fastigiate form of this plant makes it useful as a street tree. It grows to 80' tall and only 20' wide, with high quality green foliage that is mite resistant.