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Bald Cypress
Taxodium distichum

In the northernmost section of the Park there is a Taxodium distichum, also called a bald cypress. Our Park specimen was planted in June of 2022 by the Friends of Matthias Baldwin Park.

The bald cypress is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. The Park had a problem with water accumulation in the north section of the Park. The bald cypress, also known as swamp cypress, does well in wet soil. It is described in the Wikipedia entry here.
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Photo of the bald cypress taken in May of 2024, two years after planting. 
Bald cypress factoids:
  • These are some of the oldest trees in the United States; the oldest tree in the eastern United States is a 2,626-year-old bald cypress.
  • The trees will develop "knees," or projections of the root system out of the soil, in wet soils. 
  • The bald cypress is monoecious, with male and female cones on the same plant.
  • The tree grows naturally from the Philadelphia area down into the southeast United States. It is the official state tree of Louisiana.
  • PS: as stated above, this is a deciduous conifer. It looses its needles in the winter. It looks dead in the winter but it is not. Do not attempt to cut it down!
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The same tree on November 24, 2024, showing its beautiful fall color.
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Photo of the base of a  bald cypress in front of the Palestra on Penn's campus, taken in April of 2024.
This particular tree is growing in a rain collection basin. The knees are the woody projections from the ground. It is debated whether these knees function in gas exchange or as structural stabilizers. Our tree will probably never generate knees because the soil is moist but not swampy, but we will see.
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The bald cypress and the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) are both deciduous conifers, both in the same family Cupressaceae, and both look alike. Subtle but tell-tale differences between dawn redwood on the left and bald cypress on the right distinguish these majestic species at the leaf level. There is a larger bald cypress tree on the NxNW property just on the other side of the northeast fence.
There is a very tall dawn redwood near the northeast corner of 21st and Hamilton Streets on the City View Condominium property.
Botany 101 Bonus

Sleep, creep and leap
Most of the street trees planted in the city start as 1.5-inch-diameter saplings arriving with bare roots in the spring or late fall. The bald cypress in the Park started out as a four-foot-tall, skinny bare-root sapling as well. The expectations for a new planting may be high, but there is a saying that in the first year the tree sleeps, in the second year it creeps, and in the third year it leaps. In the first year the tree is developing its root system. All the growth is underground. Frequent watering is critical at this stage with 15-20 gallons of water a week the suggested amount between March and November. In the second year, growth is split between the crown above ground and the roots below. The same amount of weekly water is still recommended in the second year. In the third year the root system is more developed and the above ground growth accelerates. Unless in a drought, little watering is necessary. 

There is a common misconception that the root structure of a tree is a mirror image of the canopy of a tree. Most of the root system is actually in the topmost portion of the ground and runs horizontally rather than deeply. The horizontal spread goes beyond the drip line of the canopy (the imaginary line from the outer edge of the canopy to the ground). Even shallow disturbances or toxins far from the tree trunk can jeopardize the health of the tree.
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Misconception on the left and actual structure on the right. Think of a wine glass placed on a table top.
And now a public service announcement: Dog urine is not good for the trees in their early years. The urine contains concentrated nitrogen. When rain is scarce, you will notice yellow circles in a green lawn from dog urinations. A little nitrogen spread out over the entire lawn may be beneficial, but when dog urine is concentrated in a small area, and when there is little rain to dilute and disperse the nitrogen in the urine, the lawn turns yellow and dies. The same principle applies to young trees. We try to post signs on new plantings with NO DOGS or some variation of that. But if you see a tree that is staked, has a watering bag around it, or is marked NO DOGS, please respect the young tree and pull your dog away from it. 
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This crabapple (Malus 'Purple Prince') was planted by the Friends on 19th Street next to the historical marker for the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Despite the prominent sign of NO DOGS someone has just let their dog pee on the tree. As they say, it takes a village, but preferentially a village of community-minded people.
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To further gild the lily (a euphemism for letting your dog pee on plantings), be aware that urine toxicity is not confined to trees. If someone is obviously trying to maintain a new planting bed, keep your dog out of the bed. 

Matthias Baldwin Park 

423 N 19th St 

Philadelphia, PA 19130

Friends of Matthias Baldwin Park is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to preserve the Matthias Baldwin Park

© 2018 Friends of Matthias Baldwin Park

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