Taxodium distichum, commonly called bald cypress, is a long-lived, pyramidal conifer which grows 50 to 70 feet tall. You can easily find a specimen as you enter the parking lot by the Lois Forrest Nature Center on the Medford Campus. Although it looks like a needled evergreen in summer, it is deciduous, or “bald” in winter as the name suggests. When growing in damp conditions, distinctive knobby root growths known as “knees” often protrude around the base of the tree. Take a look at this interesting phenomena as you are out and about in the Arboretum.
