The Bald Cypress is a slow-growing and long-lived deciduous conifer that sheds its needles in the fall and can live up to 600 years. Native to Western Kentucky and wetland habitats in the southeast U.S., this is a large and adaptable tree that can also tolerate dry soils and has been naturalized in the Bluegrass.

In wet habitats, it has characteristic “knee” roots that form above the surface of the soil to help anchor the tree. Its cones are woody brown spheres. It’s one of the few living genus from the ancient Cupressaceae family that includes the redwoods and sequoias of the west.

The largest recorded champion tree in Kentucky is in Ballard County. It is 415 inches (more than 34.5 feet) in circumference.

Images courtesy of:
Shaun Winterton
Virgina Tech
Indiana University
Purdue University