ID for this tree please.

[LynM]

Out and about this morning taking autumnal pictures, I found this tree in the public gardens in town. It is looking decidedly unhappy! Please can anyone id it for me and possibly suggest what might the problem be?

[The Woodman]

Hi LynM

It looks very much like a Swamp Cypress to me ,Taxodium distichum, don't worry, the colours are entirely natural as it is a deciduous conifer.

All the leaves will eventually fall off, the last ones are always at the end of the shoots, that's why they stay green the longest.

One thing does puzzle me and that's the form of the tree, it's usually conical, I think your specimen might have had its top broken out at some time in the past.

[LynM]

Thanks, Woodman. I know that it was all green back in the spring, but I've not seen it at this time of year before. Also, I've never heard of a deciduous conifer before! I shall look up its details.

[The Woodman]

There are a small number of deciduous conifers out there, the most plentiful and easily found are the larches. Their golden brown needles are falling at the moment and the tracks in the wood I've been in today are covered in a golden carpet - lovely in the bright sunshine.