Swamp Cypress Tree

[Cordaline]

This was a first for me today in Bushy park.
Swamp Cypress trees.
The knobbly bits are called 'knees' and I think they are supports for growing in swampy habitats.

[Dorts]

They certainly are a strange species. Swamp Cypress - Taxodium distichum is rarely found in smaller gardens, probably because conditions are unlikely to be suitable. The do indeed prefer damp conditions as found around the edges of shallow lakes. There is a good 'stand' at Syon Park. The 'knees' take some years to appear.
They can reach 150ft. in their natural habitat where they prefer to grow in standing water.
I'm hoping to plant one here in Wales in place of a large Spruce that has just been blown down.
Lovely tree.
Dorts.

[Cordaline]

Originally Posted by Dorts

They certainly are a strange species. Swamp Cypress - Taxodium distichum is rarely found in smaller gardens, probably because conditions are unlikely to be suitable. The do indeed prefer damp conditions as found around the edges of shallow lakes. There is a good 'stand' at Syon Park. The 'knees' take some years to appear.
They can reach 150ft. in their natural habitat where they prefer to grow in standing water.
I'm hoping to plant one here in Wales in place of a large Spruce that has just been blown down.
Lovely tree.
Dorts.

Thanks for the extra info Dorts!
Much appreciated!

[Jim Ford]

There's some in Kew round the Lake. There's also some in our local park. Once you see one, you start seeing them 'everywhere'.

Jim

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

There's some in Kew round the Lake. There's also some in our local park. Once you see one, you start seeing them 'everywhere'.

Jim

Agree the ones at Kew (as well as the ones across the river at Syon) look spectacular + have wonderful autumn colour.

The ones I've seen in the UK have looked more spectacular than the ones I've seen in the wild in US wetlands.

[Hawk Roosting]

Those are the swamp cypress in the Pheasantry woodland garden aren't they? The 'knees' are known as pneumatophores - they're a specialised structure with high numbers of lenticels (pores on the bark) and spongy tissues allowing gaseous exchange (i.e. the absorption of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide which are the 'fuel' and the by-product of respiration) so you could say the tree is breathing through its knees! Taxodium distichum is not the only species with this adaptation - pneumatophores are also found on some species of mangrove.

Quite common on mature Taxodium, but the knees on those along the stream in the Pheasantry are by far the biggest I've seen - some must be getting on for 2ft tall. The tree's knees came up to my knees last time I was there.

Also of interest in the Pheasantry is a specimen of Acer monspessalanum - reckoned to be the tallest of its species in the UK - and a group of Pinus coulteri or big cone pine, which as the name suggests has the biggest cones of any pine - they really look as if they're fruiting with pineapples.

[Cordaline]

Originally Posted by Hawk Roosting

Those are the swamp cypress in the Pheasantry woodland garden aren't they? The 'knees' are known as pneumatophores - they're a specialised structure with high numbers of lenticels (pores on the bark) and spongy tissues allowing gaseous exchange (i.e. the absorption of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide which are the 'fuel' and the by-product of respiration) so you could say the tree is breathing through its knees! Taxodium distichum is not the only species with this adaptation - pneumatophores are also found on some species of mangrove.

Quite common on mature Taxodium, but the knees on those along the stream in the Pheasantry are by far the biggest I've seen - some must be getting on for 2ft tall. The tree's knees came up to my knees last time I was there.

Also of interest in the Pheasantry is a specimen of Acer monspessalanum - reckoned to be the tallest of its species in the UK - and a group of Pinus coulteri or big cone pine, which as the name suggests has the biggest cones of any pine - they really look as if they're fruiting with pineapples.

Hiya,
Yes they are the ones in the Pheasantry Garden.
I've never seen anything like it before, I have to say.
The 'knees' were much taller than our knees, more like waist height or there abouts.
I'm only 5' 4" and didn't actually make a point of measuring, sorry.
Thankyou for your added info.
I'd gone in there looking for the Mandarin Ducks & a spot of lunch in the cafe.

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by Hawk Roosting

Pinus coulteri or big cone pine, which as the name suggests has the biggest cones of any pine - they really look as if they're fruiting with pineapples.

My partner likes cones and I bought one for her from Ebay in the U.S., via a circuitous route to minimise postage.

The cones really are huge - like a big pineapple. They're nicknamed 'The Widow Maker' because of the danger from falling ones, and workers in a 'Coulter Pine' area have to wear hard hats. Not only are the cones very large, they have sharp 'claws' on the ends of the scales.

I've never seen Big Cone Pines growing in this country, although I understand some have been planted; and I don't know if those that have been planted bear cones.

Jim

[Dorts]

Originally Posted by Hawk Roosting

Those are the swamp cypress in the Pheasantry woodland garden aren't they? The 'knees' are known as pneumatophores - they're a specialised structure with high numbers of lenticels (pores on the bark) and spongy tissues allowing gaseous exchange (i.e. the absorption of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide which are the 'fuel' and the by-product of respiration) so you could say the tree is breathing through its knees! Taxodium distichum is not the only species with this adaptation - pneumatophores are also found on some species of mangrove.

Quite common on mature Taxodium, but the knees on those along the stream in the Pheasantry are by far the biggest I've seen - some must be getting on for 2ft tall. The tree's knees came up to my knees last time I was there.

Also of interest in the Pheasantry is a specimen of Acer monspessalanum - reckoned to be the tallest of its species in the UK - and a group of Pinus coulteri or big cone pine, which as the name suggests has the biggest cones of any pine - they really look as if they're fruiting with pineapples.

According to this piece in Wiki. there is a different view re. the purpose of the knees.

'Their function was once thought to be to provide oxygen to the roots, which grow in the low dissolved oxygen waters typical of a swamp (as in mangroves). However, there is little evidence for this; in fact, roots of swamp-dwelling specimens whose knees are removed do not decrease in oxygen content and the trees continue to thrive. Another more likely function is that of structural support and stabilization. Bald (Swamp)-cypress growing on flood-prone sites tend to form buttressed bases, but trees grown on drier sites may lack this feature. Buttressed bases and a strong, intertwined root system allows them to resist very strong winds; even hurricanes rarely overturn them.'
Dorts.

[Johnny81]

Certainly are strange trees I found this Taxodium tree in a Northamptonshire reserve, nice foliage on them.