Bald Cypress Swamp

Bald Cypress Swamp is an original illustration set in Lower Mississippi Wetlands, USA. It lies in the subtropics, where the climate is humid subtropical — hot summers, no dry season.

A broad fluted buttressed trunk stands in shallow still water, surrounded by numerous woody conical knees breaking the surface. Fine russet foliage reflects in the dark water, and the early autumn morning is quiet and windless.

Why do these trees have knees sticking out of the water?

The buttress spreads the load of a tall tree in soft saturated ground, and the knees are root projections whose function is still argued over — bracing, gas exchange, or both. A conifer that drops its needles each autumn is unusual, and it does so because it stands in water: the leaves are cheap and the winter is mild but wet.

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