Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

pondcypress Cupressaceae Taxodium ascendens Brongn. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: TAAS
Leaf: Linear or awl-like and small, 3/8 inch long, held close to the twig, green to yellow-green.
Flower: Males in 3 to 5 inch long hanging panicles, females are small and occur near branch tips.
Fruit: Nearly round cone with peltate scales, 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter, initially yellow-green but turning brown and breaking into individual scales when mature.
Twig: May be deciduous or not. Slender, covered with tight scale-like foliage, later brown and rough as needles age and fall off; buds rounded. Typical deciduous branchlets ascend vertically from branches.
Bark: Fibrous and shreddy, red-brown and gray where oxidized. Thought to become thicker than that of baldcypress.
Form: Medium sized tree with a pyramidal crown, clear bole and often buttressed base, generally smaller than baldcypress.
 Looks like: baldcypress

leaf
twig
fruit
twig
bark
form1
map

Additional Range Information: Taxodium ascendens is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information