CYPRESS. (Cupressus and Taxodium.)
The name cypress has been chiefly applied to trees of the genera Chamæcyparis, Cupressus, and Taxodium. Most species of the genus Chamæcyparis are now called cedars (see [page 167]). The Cupressus, while true cypresses and important in Europe, have no significance in America. The single species of the genus Taxodium is not a cypress, but supplies the "cypress" wood of American commerce. It is perhaps best to confine the name cypress to the true cypress (Cupressus) and to the commercial cypress (Taxodium).
The true cypress (Cupressus) was once important in the East, and is thought by some to have given the gopher wood of which the Ark was built.[98] Pliny mentions cypress doors good after four hundred years, and a statue good after six hundred years. Herodotus and other ancient authors[99] speak of it. Authorities in the middle ages thought that it would never decay. The cypress gates of the early St. Peter's, removed after one thousand years of service, were found to be in perfect condition.[100] Cypress was much prized for mummy-cases. Living trees long figured as funeral emblems, and are yet planted over graves in Italy and Turkey.[101] The common or evergreen cypress is the chief European species. The eight or nine American representatives are of little note save as they are sometimes used for hedges and ornamentation. The Monterey and Gowan cypresses (Cupressus macrocarpa and Cupressus goveniana) are thus employed. There are small evergreen scale-like leaves. [p178]
Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum).
The American or Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) is a tree of considerable importance. It grows in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, on submerged lands or in deep swamps where unusual logging methods are necessitated. The seasoned wood resembles white cedar in that it is soft, light, and very durable. It has been called by many names. Pieces were once called black or white cypress according as they sank or floated. All dark pieces are now called black cypress. The tinted woods of some localities are called red or yellow cypress. The name bald cypress was caused by the leafless appearance of the trees in winter. The living trees are subject to a peculiar fungous disease, causing numerous cavities in the wood. These so resemble perforations made by small pegs that the wood is termed "peggy." The trouble ceases as the trees are cut, and the wood is then as durable as that from perfect trees. About one third of the standing supply is thus affected.[102] The roots frequently project upward above the surface in what are known as cypress knees. The single species of this genus may easily be recognized by its deciduous foliage; the little leaves are separated and are not in tufts as with the tamaracks. [p179]
FOOTNOTES
[98] Funk & Wagnalls' Standard Dictionary, quoting Horace Smith, "Gayeties and Gravities," Chapter VII, p. 57.
[99] Pliny 16, 214 and 16, 215; Herodotus 4, 16; Virgil, Georgics, 2, 443.
[100] Encyclopædia Britannica, B. 6, p. 745.