Landowners in Florida and the Southeastern United States are becoming more and more interested in planting Cypress trees. Aside from natural beauty, the benefits of planting Cypress trees in and around your area are numerous and varied. Cypress trees can enhance the aesthetics and functioning of stormwater retention ponds, for example.
Certain species of cypress tree have an odd physical feature: knees. Scientists have not officially determined the function of Cypress knees, which are woody projections that peek out from the water level above the tree's roots. Some believe that the knees poke up out of the water to help oxygenate the sub-marine roots in swampy, low-oxygen water, or that they help anchor the tree somehow in the wet mud, but neither of these assumptions have been proven true. In fact, in an experiment to verify the purpose of these cypress knees, they were removed from trees in a swamp and the trees continued to thrive.
The Cypress species that develop knees are bald cypress, pond cypress, Glyptostrobus, Ahuehuete, and Metasequoia.
Regardless of their purpose, cypress knees are a unique feature of swamp and water cypresses and add a lot of texture, intrigue, and beauty to the landscape in which they thrive. Just don't trip on one!