The bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, is a deciduous conifer that grows on saturated and seasonally inundated soils of the Southeastern and Gulf Coastal Plains of the United States, from Delaware Bay south to Florida and west to East Texas and southeastern Oklahoma, and also inland up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers north to southern Illinois and Indiana. It can live for over 1000 years, but most old trees have been cut for their rot-resistant lumber. The widely flaring and buttressed base and "knees" that project from the soil are typical of this species. It is widely grown as a garden tree and does not require wet soil in cultivation. Photo taken at Caddo Lake, TX (the only natural lake within the state). The Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) hanging from the branches is not a true moss but an epiphytic bromeliad.