Tree of the day: Taxodium distichum, Swamp cypress, Library South
Taxodium distichum is a species of deciduous needleleaf coniferous plants (in the Cupressaceae or Cypress family), native to south-eastern North America.
Taxodium distichum is a species of deciduous needleleaf coniferous plants (in the Cupressaceae or Cypress family), native to south-eastern North America. Taxodium distichum is a large tree adapted to wetlands and floodplains, where it develops distinctive woody "knees" that protrude from the ground, thought to aid in stability and gas exchange. It has soft, feathery green needles that turn a rich copper-brown in autumn before falling. It is widely planted as a specimen tree in parks and large landscapes for its impressive size, graceful form, and autumn colour.
about this species
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This photo is one of 9624 photos of 872 trees in 329 species
This website is a virtual arboretum, created for interest, education and beauty. It exhibits some of the thousands of trees, of both native and exotic species, that grow in Whiteknights Park, the main campus of the University of Reading. Many of them have been planted since the university arrived in 1947, but some have been here since the 19th century or earlier, when Whiteknights was the gardens and parkland of large houses. Nine of the trees are listed as the British Isles champions of their species in The Tree Register.
Please send any comments about this website to whiteknights-trees@reading.ac.uk.
The previous version of this website is here.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank: Rupert Taylor, Owen Johnson, Alastair Culham, Jonathan Mitchley, Marcus Wheeler, Benoît Vannière, Miguel Teixeira and Claire Hawkins for tree identifications; Brian Hunt and Trevor Smith for testing routes and contributing text; Dylan Parkes, Martin Watts, Emilija Rudzinskaite, Brian and Trevor for collaboration on the centenary project; Dan Hodson for useful code examples; Studio Lift for website style; Brian, Trevor and Nathanaël van Twillert for comments and suggestions on website user experience; Benoît, Marcus, Steve George, Brian, Trevor, the Friends of the University of Reading, and other friends for their encouragement during the development of the website; the University and its grounds staff for maintaining Whiteknights Park.