The Bald Trees with the Knobby Knees

Blog Category
Discover Nature Notes
Published Display Date
Jul 17, 2017
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The classic image of a swamp wouldn’t be complete without cypress trees.  Rooted in water as dark and mysterious as time itself, these ancient conifers dominate swamps in Missouri’s Bootheel.

The oldest bald cypress trees can be seen at Allred Lake Natural area.  These gnarled giants range from 500 to 1,000 years old.  They can rise to a height of 130 feet.  It is worth the trip to see these trees up close in an other-wordly looking landscape.

Bald cypress trees depend on the natural cycles of flooding that define a true swamp.  Flooding replenishes nutrients and moisture in the soil, and maintains conditions that favor cypress and other swamp plants and animals.

The trunk of a cypress has a wide, swollen base, or buttress, that helps to support the tree in wet, unstable soil.  The knobby, cone-shaped humps rising from around the base of the tree are called knees, that help with aeration of the roots and stabilization of the tree.  It also give it that eerie look at the water's edge.

Scientists can study old cypress trees to learn about climatic conditions of the past.  If the old trees could talk, they might tell tales other than those of ancient weather.  They might boast of now-extinct carolina parakeets and passenger pigeons roosting in their branches.

Sight’s on the Cypress

 

  • A popular ornamental, the bald cypress tree was planted in European landscapes as early as 1640. Its majestic form graces many large public landscapes. 
  • The soft, durable wood has been used for paneling, construction lumber, barrels, caskets, boats, shingles, railroad ties, fence posts and bridge beams.
  • Many birds, including wood ducks, eat the seeds. In addition to providing food for wildlife, large trees provide habitat as well, supporting in their boughs nests of many species and be-coming crucial habitat for more animals after the trees die, fall and begin to rot on the forest floor.

 

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