Taxodium

Taxodium is a genus of one to three species of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The generic name is derived from the Latin word taxus, meaning "yew", and the Greek word εἶδος, meaning "similar to." Within the family, Taxodium is most closely related to Chinese swamp cypress and sugi.

Species of Taxodium occur in the southern part of the North American continent and are deciduous in the north and semi-evergreen to evergreen in the south. They are large trees, reaching 100–150 ft tall and 6.5–10 ft trunk diameter. The needle-like leaves, 0.2–0.8 in long, are borne spirally on the shoots, twisted at the base so as to appear in two flat rows on either side of the shoot.