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Bald Cypress

Taxodium distichum

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in brownwater and blackwater swamps, usually in riverine situations, depressions in bottomland forests, lake margins, river banks, rarely in wooded seeps. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

49
Good

Native to Arkansas (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
50–70 feet
Spread
20–30 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 25 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
March to April
Fruiting season
October

Recorded in 37 Arkansas 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

Swamps

The Land of Evangeline
Joseph Rusling Meeker, The Land of Evangeline (1874): moss-hung trees over a still bayou in Louisiana swamp forest. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Louisiana bayou country (Meeker, The Land of Evangeline, 1874), a neighboring state.The Land of Evangeline, Joseph Rusling Meeker, 1874. Public domain. Source record. scaled to 1280 x 923 by the Wikimedia thumbnailer from 4096 x 2953; no crop or other change

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 67 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (77)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of Arkansas

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

14CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR

Genus host records with ranges including AR · Taxodium

  • Chloropteryx tepperariaAngled-Winged Emerald
  • Cutina albopunctellaGray Cypress Looper
  • Cutina distinctaDistinguisged Cypress Owlet
  • 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
  • Macaria aequiferariaWoody Angle
Show all 14
  • 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 eating Taxodium in Arkansas

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

Direct food only. 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

Birds that eat Taxodium 2

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Cupressaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Purple
Growth rate
Rapid
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

Arkansas rankSNR
Global rankG5
AR statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources