|                    Pond cypress
                      |  
              
                |                    Taxodium ascendens  
                      |  
              
                |                    Cupressaceae 
                      |  
  
              
                 Landscape Uses:
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                 Accent or specimen tree in wet soils. | 
               
                Ecological Restoration Notes:  | 
               
              
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                | Availability: | 
               
              
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                 Commonly available at native plant nurseries in central Florida. Available at native plant nurseries in northeast and South Florida. Available at  Indian Trails Native Nursery in Lake Worth (561-641-9488). | 
               
              
                | Description: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Small to large tree with an erect, straight trunk.  Bark gray to brown, flaking in strips.  Needles deciduous, thin, light green, almost always held flat against the twig. | 
               
              
                | Height: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Typically 10-80 feet in height in South Florida; to 115 feet in Florida.  Usually taller than broad. | 
               
              
                | Growth Rate: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Moderate. | 
               
              
                | Range: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Eastern and southeastern United States west to Texas and south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland. | 
               
              
                | Habitats: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Freshwater swamps and marl prairies. | 
               
              
                | Soils: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Wet to moist, poorly-drained to moderately well-drained calcareous, sandy or organic soils, with or without humus. | 
               
              
                | Nutritional Requirements: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Moderate to high; grows best with some organic content and may languish in nutrient poor soils. | 
               
              
                | Salt Water Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water. | 
               
              
                | Salt Wind Tolerance: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Low; salt wind may burn the leaves. | 
               
              
                | Drought Tolerance: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought. | 
               
              
                | Light Requirements: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Full sun. | 
               
              
                | Flower Color: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Green turning brown. | 
               
              
                | Flower Characteristics: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Cone. | 
               
              
                | Flowering Season: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Spring. | 
               
              
                | Fruit: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Cone. | 
               
              
                | Wildlife and Ecology: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Provides some food and moderate amounts of cover for wildlife. | 
               
                     
                | Horticultural Notes: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Can be grown from seed soaked in water for 24-48 hours. | 
               
              
                | Comments: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Depending on nutrients and water availability, this can be a small tree or tree-like shrub or it can be a large tree. See a 2018 post on the Treasure Coast Natives blog on the galls created by the Cypress Twig Gall Midge on Pond Cypress. | 
               
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