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Pond Cypress

Taxodium ascendens

Found in depression ponds and limesinks; pine savannas; ponds, lakes and their shores; streams, rivers and their banks; swamps. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

51
Strong

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
About 100 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet to standing water
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
March to April
Fruiting season
October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle

Recorded in 17 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 5

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Georgia pond and emergent wetland
Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 165 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

17CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Taxodium

  • Chloropteryx tepperariaAngled-Winged Emerald
  • Cutina albopunctellaGray Cypress Looper
  • Cutina distinctaDistinguisged Cypress Owlet
  • Dasychira dominickariaDominick's Tussock Moth
  • Datana ministraYellow-Necked Caterpillar Moth
  • Dioryctria pygmaeellaBald Cypress Coneworm
  • Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Iridopsis pergracilisCypress Gray, Black-Shouldered Gray
  • Isoparce cupressiBald Cypress Sphinx
Show all 17
  • Lithophane abitaBald Cypress Pinion
  • Macaria aequiferariaWoody Angle
  • Orgyia detritaLive Oak Tussock Moth, Fir Tussock Moth
  • Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
  • Perimede erransellaGray Perimede
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Taxodium

  • Aix sponsaWood Duck
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cupressaceae
Flower color
Brown
Growth rate
Slow
Growth habit
Single stem
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
October
Fruit ends
October

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources