Photo by Joe Kegley Our mystery plant is in a swamp.

This is one of the characteristic wetland forest trees of the South, found naturally on the Atlantic coastal plain from Maryland to Texas and well into the Mississippi River valley into southern Illinois. It is a conifer which bears small cones, only 1–2” long, shaped much like the cones on the giant coast redwoods of California, to which our mystery tree is related.

Curiously, our plant is a deciduous conifer, which is unusual, as most conifers are evergreen plants. Its leaves are needle shaped and arranged in two rows on either side of a narrow stem. In the autumn, the needles tend to turn a rich, warm brown–orange, and the entire assemblage of stem with attached leaves falls away as a single unit.

The tree pictured is from Congaree National Park in Richland County, and it represents the state champion for SC, being 131' tall with a circumference of 26'. It takes seven adults joining hands to reach around its base! The national champion is in Louisiana, and although wider at the base than ours, reaches upwards only 83'.

The trees are an integral part of low–country landscapes often draped with Spanish moss. The wood of this tree is strong, durable, fine–grained, and has been valued for flooring and furniture, as well as nearly indestructible shingles. It is also valued as a landscape tree, adaptable to a variety of soils, and is widely cultivated.

This particular tree is one of several recently nominated into the “Treasured Tree” program here in central SC as a way of bringing recognition to the importance of trees in our surroundings.

SC’s Arbor Day is coming up on December 2. It is celebrated each year on the first Friday of December. Every state has a different date, although the National day is the last Friday of April. For more information on Arbor Day, visit www.arborday.org/)

Answer to last week’s

mystery plant

Horned melon, Kiwano, Cucumis metuliferus

Dr. John Nelson is the curator of the USC Herbarium. To learn more about the Herbarium, call him

at 777-8196. His department also offers free plant identification. www.herbarium.org