Friday, March 26, 2010

Bald Cypress


Bald Cypress, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

I had about a half hour to sketch while waiting at the doctor’s office, and sketched this Bald Cypress tree near the parking lot. It looks like young tree, 25 feet high, with a trunk about 9 to 10 inches in diameter. I used my sepia Micron Pigma pens to sketch on site, and added the watercolor washes later. My little three-color travel palette came into play again – the same Quinacridone Pink, Quinacridone Gold, and Prussian Blue kit I mentioned in a previous post.

In my research, I learned that the delicate drooping panicles are the male flowers, and I wondered if the yellowish-rust coloring was a dusting of pollen. The panicles (branched clusters of flowers) were 4 to 5 inches long, swaying in the breeze from arched branches. Anchored onto the sturdier branches were different types of airplants.

According to my meager knowledge they are Tillandsias: Wild Pine, Ball Moss, and Spanish Moss. These are also known as bromeliads, and are related to the cultivated pineapple. These however, are epiphytes. Epiphytes often grow on other plants or trees, but are not parasitic. They get nutrition from the air, rain, or organic debris that collects in their roots or leaves. Wild Pine sends up red bloom spikes this time of year – a spectacular sight in some trees, especially this cypress, which hasn’t yet replaced its needles.

A deciduous habit has earned this Cypress the “Bald” adjective. Some more ambitious trees nearby have started to sprout new foliage. There is nothing as soft looking and deliciously colored as the bright, fresh green of newly emerged cypress needles.

Bald Cypress normally grows in wet places, but is adaptable to drier conditions, too. A good place to see cypress trees and domes in their natural setting in our area is the Fakahatchee Strand or Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. In fact, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has some of the largest and oldest stands of ancient cypress in the world, with some trees estimated at 500 years old!

You can click on the image above to view it larger on my Flickr photostream.

7 comments:

  1. Lovely sketch and lots of wonderful information. You live in a very different place than I do. It is fun to have a peek at your world.

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  2. Beautiful sketch and informative post, Elizabeth! This tree must make quite a statement in a landscape with all it's decorative inhabitants.

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  3. Thanks, Elva and Serena! I'd love to get closer and see all of the little things that must live in and on this tree - mosses, lichens, insects, etc. The birds were staying away from me, but I could hear them around me in the trees further away.

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  4. I just loved being down in Florida and seeing all these new trees and plants (and feeling the wonderful sunshine!!). I love this beautiful tree. I also love how you tag your temp and date and labels...just gorgeous. I saw these trees down there and wondered what they were...now I know!

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  5. This is so lovely! I really enjoy your pages. My goal is to do something like this myself someday. In the meantime, I practice my sketching as often as I can.

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  6. I love your sketch, Elizabeth. I'm so impressed by how beautifully you tied all of the elements of the page together! And I was fascinated by all that you learned and shared about the trees. Thank you!

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  7. Hi Kelly! Yes, these are interesting and awesome trees. Right now they tend to fade into the background against the new foliage of native trees and for the ornamental flowering trees that are blooming now in the medians and yards. I love how the branches take on unusual shapes, and the silvery gray-brown of the bark. Thank you for your comments on the tags; I have a background as a graphic artist and have been experimenting (as you can see!).

    Thanks, Kathy! Keep practicing, girl! I have to say that my daily sketching has improved my skills to the point where I don’t hesitate to draw without a pencil sketch first, unheard of a year ago. : ) And all of my dabbles in watercolors have paid off, too. It helps to really get acquainted with your materials, that way you’ll be dashing off washes and mixing color on the page without even thinking about it.

    Hi Debbie, thanks for your visit! I seem to be lucky lately on my page composition, thanks. And I feel like I know so little, especially compared to friends who rattle off scientific names and complicated eco-relationships without pausing for breath. Speaking of which, I learn a lot about mushrooms just perusing your wonderful blog!

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