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178 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
analogous to the cone-shaped base of the former; and from Coulter's observations
it would appear that seedlings of Taxodium are also rare here, and that it is
being beaten in the struggle by the Nyssa, the seedlings of which are very
abundant.
A disease l due to a fungus has attacked many of the trees in the Mississippi
valley; the heartwood is found when the trees are cut down to be full of holes
^ to f inch in diameter.
Taxodium is one of the most striking and characteristic trees in the Gulf States,
having its branches often covered with Tillandsia ^lsnco^dcs, the " Spanish moss"
of the inhabitants, the long grey masses of which wave in the wind and give it
a strange appearance. The trunk takes many curious forms, which seem to be
induced by the nature of the soil and the depth of the water, sometimes branching
low and surrounded by buttresses, sometimes growing straight up to a considerable
height (Plates 52-53). 2 From the stout wide-spreading roots arise woody cylindrical
projections, sometimes above a foot in diameter and 5 to 7 feet high, which are
called " cypress knees." The growth and functions of these have been the source of
much discussion. 3 Berkeley 4 supposed that they serve to aerate the submerged
roots; others have thought that they help to anchor the roots in soft muddy soil.
As the knees, however, occur to some extent even on ground which is never flooded,
as in the trees at Syon, these suppositions, though highly probable, must remain
somewhat doubtful.
The knees are hollow inside, and smooth externally, being covered with a reddish,
soft, and spongy bark. They never show any sign of vegetation, and will not put
forth shoots, even if wounded and covered with earth.
CULTIVATION
In England the Taxodium grows much better than might be expected consider
ing how much colder and shorter are our summers than those of its native country.
It was introduced by John Tradescant about 1640, and described by Parkinson 5 as
Cuprcsstts americana.
For some unexplained reason it has lost the popularity it once enjoyed, and is
now seldom planted, though it grows well in the southern and western counties. I
have raised it from American seed, which, however, must be soaked in warm water
for some time, and placed in a warm house to get good results. It grows rapidly at
first, but as the young wood is not ripened, and no terminal bud formed (which
1 Coulter, Missouri Bot. Garden Report, 1 899, p. 23.
2 For the negatives of the first of these photographs I am indebted to Miss E. Cummings of Brookline, Mass., a lady
who is second to none in her love of and knowledge of trees. The second, which was sent by Mr. W. Ashe, represents a
typical cypress swamp on the Roauoak river, North Carolina, which has never been cut for timber.
3 Sargent, loc. at. 1 52, note I ; Coulter, foe. fit. The best review I know of the literature on this subject is in a letter
by R. H. Lamborn in Garden mid Forest, iii. p. 21, which should be consulted by those interested, and which is illustrated by
a very curious photograph, taken at Lake Monroe in Central Florida, of the denuded roots of the tree, showing that in some
cases, at least, the anchor theory is proved.
4 Card. Chron. 1 857, p. 549.
6 Parkinson, Theatr. 1477, fig. In Catalogue of Trees, London, 1730, p. 25, it is stated that the first tree, raised
in Tradescant's garden near Lambeth, was then still living, being 40 feet high by 2 fathoms in girth.
Taxodium 179
Sargent says is also the case in America), the young plant must be kept under glass
for the first two or three winters in order to develop a straight leader.
Many of the old trees which are to be found in England have evidently suffered
from spring and autumn frosts when young, and have become stunted in consequence,
but when the wood is ripe the tree will stand as much as 30 to 40" of frost, and I
have seen it existing in the open air as far north as Copenhagen.
It should be planted in deep, moist loam, and the most sheltered situation that
can be found, and may then be expected in the south and south-west to grow into
a very fine and ornamental tree.
REMARKABLE TREES
The trees at Syon have been frequently described and figured. They are
planted in damp soil by the side of a sheet of water, and one of them has produced
knees of i to 2 feet high. This tree, which is shown in Plate 54, measured, in
1903. 90 feet by 12, but there is a much taller one on the other side of the water,
which, when we saw it last in 1905, was no feet high, and is the tallest we know
of in Europe. Another in the Duke's walk is 85 feet by 10 feet 3 inches.
But those at Whitton, near Hounslow, are even more remarkable, and are
believed to have been planted by the Duke of Argyll between 1720 and 1762. They
grow on gravelly soil, which, though apparently dry, is probably underlaid by damp
alluvium. There are five trees standing in a group, of which the largest, carefully
measured by us both in 1905, was 98 to 100 feet high by 13 feet 6 inches in girth ;
the others are all large, healthy, and growing trees (Plate 55).
At Pain's Hill, Surrey, there are two good trees: one, 1 measured by Henry in
1904. is 90 feet by 10 feet 9 inches, the other is 80 feet by 8 feet 6 inches.
At Parkside Gardens, Wimbledon, a tree is growing which is remarkably like
the Ginkgo at Kew in habit. The bole at 7 feet divides into two stems, which give
off seven or eight ascending branches. In 1904, measured by Henry, it was 65 feet
by 11 feet 2 inches.
At Gothic Lodge, Wimbledon, the residence of Sir William Preece, there is a
tree with a fine bole of 20 feet, dividing into several upright stems. In 1904,
measured by Henry, it was 90 feet by 11 feet. This is perhaps the tree mentioned
by Miller,2 who says that a " tree at Wimbledon in the garden of Sir A. Janssen,
Bart., bore cones for some years past and seeds which have been as good as those
brought from America."
At White Knights, Reading, there are several trees, but none of large size, the
biggest measuring, in 1904, 67 feet by 7 feet 10 inches. They are remarkable,
however, for variety of habit. One is a tall, narrow tree with upright branches,
almost fastigiate. In another tree the stem is twisted, as often occurs in the
chestnut, and most of the branches are twisted also in the direction against the sun.
Loudon mentions these as young trees of peculiar habits.
1 This is probably the tree, reported in Wootis and forests, February 4, 1885, to be 83 feet in height by 10 feet in girth
at 3 feet above the ground.
* M iller, Card. Diet., ed. 8, sub Cvfressus disticha ( 1768),