World's largest Abld Cypress, Taxodium distichum

[Eric in Orlando]

Just north of Orlando near Sanford is Big Tree Park. It is a wet hammock area. In it are 2 huge Taxodium distichum, Bald Cypress. One, named "The Senator", is supposedly the worlds largest and oldest Bald Cypress. According to the sign at the tree it is;

3500 years old

has a 17.5ft diameter

1125ft circumference

188 ft tall

next to it is another large specimen named "Lady Liberty";

2000 years old

10ft diameter

389 ft circumference

89 ft tall

here is "The Senator"

[Eric in Orlando]

here is "Lady Liberty"

[palmmermaid]

Eric,

Truly magnificient trees! I love cypress. They always remind me of growing up with the swamps near my home. Standing in the tannin-colored water, covered with spanish moss and other bromeliads and sometimes orchids, branches drooping and sighing in the wind, the knees popping up....the real south.

[Alicehunter2000]

Those little things........oh we got tons of them here that size.....................just kidding. Those are impressive.

I have always wanted to ask a bald cyprus question.

Why do the bald cyprus that you can buy from a nursery, box store etc have a pyramid shape (Christmas Tree) but larger/older specimens from the swamps do not have this same general shape? They are more rounded or umbrella or irreguarly shaped.

I am not a fan of the Christmas tree shape.....it looks too cold weather......but I do like the cyprus that is found growing wild.

[Jeff Searle]

WOW! Those are incredible, to say the least. If they could talk, I'm sure they've seen a thing or two in their lifetime. Thanks, Eric.

Jeff

[_Keith]

Those little things........oh we got tons of them here that size.....................just kidding. Those are impressive.

I have always wanted to ask a bald cyprus question.

Why do the bald cyprus that you can buy from a nursery, box store etc have a pyramid shape (Christmas Tree) but larger/older specimens from the swamps do not have this same general shape? They are more rounded or umbrella or irreguarly shaped.

I am not a fan of the Christmas tree shape.....it looks too cold weather......but I do like the cyprus that is found growing wild.

Enduring lots of hurricanes. I have seen the top blown out of a few large ones.

We think in terms of all of the storms of the last 100 years. Just imagine what those trees have seen in 1000 to 3500 years.

[Rusty on Pine Is.]

It is wonderful that a tree so old and magnificent is still living....and sad that more are not.

[Dave-Vero]

The sort-of flat top of mature baldcypresses has everything to do with wind damage. A tree like the Senator had a lot of wind protection until it reached that enormous height. You can see something of the same process at work in southern magnolia trees. The ones with tall, clear trunks grew straight up in deep shade, developing crowns when they reached full sunlight.

[bubba]

Truly Magnificient Specimens.Thank you

[DoomsDave]

Wow !

They look huge, but maybe show the Shoe for scale?

dave

[ron@springhammock]

The Senator is not far from my house, so I went on a little hike on the new "rails to trails" path that passes through the park this morning. Unfortunately, the Senator is now only a "mere" 118 feet tall. Back when it was much taller it was an important land mark for both Indians and early U.S. settlers. The main trail through Seminole County took a bend around the Senator and eventually became 427, the first paved road in Seminole county. Now days it's no longer a main road.

There are still many cypress trees equal to, if not larger than Lady Liberty at the east end of the preserve near Lake Jesup. These don't have a fence around them and if you don't mind mucking it, you can hike through massive knees, some well over six feet tall. Many old stumps can be found of trees long harvested. Only trees with rotted heartwood remain, including the Senator. It's hard to imagine what the great groves of these trees would have looked like before they were harvested ...probably nearly as impressive as the redwood forests out west.

[ron@springhammock]

...I guess my picture was to big, another try.