Bald cypress
Taxodium distichum
Native to the swamps near the Gulf of Mexico, it grows up to 30 metres tall and can live even 700 years. Its needles go red in the autumn and are dropped for the winter; its bark flakes off picturesquely. However, its greatest attraction are the cypress knees, aerial roots protruding above the ground in the form of sizeable growths.
Whether they absorb oxygen or secure the tree in the swampy soil is still a subject of debates. The coniform cypresses can mostly be found near the Japanese pond in the lower park, accompanied by the somewhat similar dawn redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides).