Bad at Goodbyes

Rough Transcript

Intro 00:05

Welcome to Bad at Goodbyes.

On today’s show we consider the Chinese Swamp Cypress.

Species Information 02:05

The Chinese Swamp Cypress is a critically endangered conifer native to southeast Asia, specifically south and southeastern China, Laos, and southern Vietnam.

The Chinese Swamp Cypress is a deciduous conifer that reaches 65-100 feet in height with a trunk diameter averaging 2 feet to 4 feet, though a recently discovered stand in Laos had individuals whose trunks ranged from 6 to 11 feet in diameter and reached heights over 150 feet.

It generally grows in a pyramidal, or cone shape, like a classic christmas tree with spreading lower branches and upward pointed but drooping branches at the top giving the tree a kind of softened silhouette. The bark is thick, grayish-brown, and as it ages the bark presents vertical fissures revealing a rich red color from the cambium. The cambium is the cellular layer right beneath the bark, these are actively growing cells that differentiate into new bark or new sapwood.

Quick simplified cross section of a tree trunk:
The outer bark, which I think we all know (and love) is the tree’s protective layer. It keeps out excess moisture during heavy rain, and holds in moisture during dry spells. It insulates the tree against cold and heat, and protects against insects.

The second layer is the inner bark, which moves nutrients throughout the tree.

Then the cambium, which as mentioned, is the growing layer. It responds to hormones to either become new bark or new sapwood.

And then next, sapwood is the tree’s pipeline for moving water from the tree’s roots up to the branches and leaves. As cambium cells become new outer rings of sapwood, inner ring cells become heartwood.

So then the last layer is the heartwood, the sturdy central core of the tree. These cells are technically dead, but they do not decay and remain stable and strong as long as the outer layers of the trunk are intact.

So with the Chinese Swamp Cypress, as the tree ages its bark layers split, or fissure, in rough vertical lines, so we can see that red cambium layer beneath.

The root system of the Chinese Swamp Cypress grows pneumatophores, (commonly called Cypress knees) which are these woody structures that grow upward, vertically from the roots, extending above the ground in various shapes, ranging from small knobs to tall, pointed projections. Scientist are uncertain of the specific role these growths play, though there are three leading proposed hypotheses:

One, that cypress knees facilitate the exchange of gasses, primarily oxygen, between the tree’s roots and the atmosphere.

Two, the knees may act as anchors, providing additional support for the tree in soft, swampy soil.

Three, that cypress knees help trap and accumulate sediment around the base of the tree, so protecting the roots from erosion and creating a more nutrient-rich environment.

In the Chinese Swamp Cypress these knees can extend as far as 20 feet from the base of the trunk.

The branchlet system of the Chinese Swamp Cypress is dimorphic. Um, two terms to unpack from that sentence. Branchlet, picture a tree, its trunk, the branches that sprout from the trunk, and then twigs, stems, little bits that sprout from the branches are called branchlets. And then the other term, dimorphic, just means taking two forms. So the branchlet system is dimorphic, a single branch will have some branchlets that grow long slender needle-like leaves, and other branchlets that grow small, wider, overlapping scale-like leaves.

The Chinese Swamp Cypress is deciduous, meaning it sheds its leaves annually, this is unusual for conifers, and is particularly specialized in the Chinese Swamp Cypress based on the branchlet system. The needle-like leaves will transform into a really beautiful deep reddish-brown color in autumn and shed in the winter, while the smaller scale-like branchlets persist throughout the year.

The Chinese Swamp Cypress is monecious, it has both male and female reproductive organs flower on the same individual. Its flowers are inconspicuous, which is a botanical term for flowers that do not have showy bright colors or strong fragrances, they’re not adapted to attract pollinators like birds or insects. The Chinese Swamp Cypress is wind-pollinated. Male cones hang downward in tassel-like clusters and produce large amounts of light and powdery pollen, easily carried by the wind. The female cones, that bud in a 1in pear shape, have sticky scales that capture the pollen grains as they blow by.

Once fertilized, the female cones develop into seeds, gradually maturing, expanding and hardening into woody structures. Unlike many other conifers, the mature cones of the Chinese Swamp Cypress disintegrate, breaking apart to release the ripened seeds. These winged seeds are then carried, again by the wind, to new soil, where they have the potential to germinate, root, sprout and grow into new saplings.

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In the dream, I am myself, um, sadly, I want to dream mysteriously, as other, expansively, and yet in this dream I am me, hairless thin skinned mammal more than halfway through projected lifespan, unlikely to reproduce. But, joyfully in the dream I somehow have a slower sense of time. Without impatience, without the phantom vibrate of my phone, I can watch the long windings of the wind and the pollen on it and the coneflower fertilized, green growing brown, woodening, and the months are passing easy now, without regret. And then the slow disintegration of cone to reveal fluttering seeds. Another journey on the wind, many scattered to the stream, many snack for spotted Wren, many fall on stone. Yet one into a soft soaked silt embrace; a kind of hopefulness I think. The kind worth waiting for, in the dream.

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The Chinese Swamp Cypress is native to the subtropical and tropical regions of south and southeastern China and Laos and Vietnam. These are moist lowland and swamp biomes characterized by warm temperatures, high humidity, and abundant rainfall.

The tree grows in and along the banks of slow-moving rivers, in flood deltas, and in swampland. These are wetlands, interspersed with patches of drier land with terrain that is generally flat or gently sloping; the water table is close to the surface. Soils are nutrient-rich, composed of loose clay and silt deposits and organic matter accumulated over time. Well-adapted to these waterlogged conditions, Chinese Swamp Cypress have been observed thriving in waters even up to two feet deep.

The climate of this region is characterized by hot, humid summers with temperatures reaching the 90s, and mild winters with temperatures rarely falling below 45 degrees. Annual rainfall is high, averaging roughly 70 inches per year, with the majority falling during the monsoon season, from May to mid-October.

The Chinese Swamp Cypress is a keystone species in this wetland environment, providing essential habitat and resources for a variety of life. Its foliage offers shelter and nesting sites for birds, while the submerged roots provide refuge for fish and other aquatic creatures. The cypress knees, which rise above the waterline, create microhabitats for organisms like algae and invertebrates. Its trunk, knees, and extensive root system stabilize the soil, preventing erosion. Its annual needle-fall contributes to nutrient cycling in the ecosystem.

It shares its habitat with Japanese Cedar, White-winged Duck, Hydrangea, short-tailed scimitar babbler, giant muntjac, Spotted Wren Babbler, Chinese Tupelo, red pine, fig, Wild boar, Annamite striped rabbit, Box-Leaved Holly, Japanese Winterberry, the recently described bovine mammal Saola, Cinnamon Fern, Red-collared Woodpecker, water gum, Magnolia, crested argus and many many more.

We have fossil record of the Chinese Swamp Cypress’s genus dating from the Cretaceous period, roughly 100 million years ago. Meaning dinosaurs grazed its branches and it survived the K–Pg extinction event, the asteroid impact and resultant climate upheaval 66 million years ago, which wiped out three-quarters of Earth’s plant and animal species including all non-avian dinosaurs. The Cypress survived.

It’s estimated that the oldest currently living wild specimen is over 650 years old.

Historically the Chinese Swamp Cypress has suffered severe population decline due to over-harvesting. The

The tree’s water-resistant, decay-resistant, scented wood has been extensively logged for building houses, furniture, boats. Today, though it is protected, it is still being illegally poached and is highly sought-after on luxury timbre black markets.

Human encroachment, both historically and currently, have profoundly diminished the tree’s native habitat: so things like agricultural expansion, urbanization, infrastructure projects. And, the resultant pollution contaminates surface and groundwater, affecting the tree’s growth and overall health.

Human induced climate change also poses a growing risk. Increasing temperatures and specifically changes in rainfall patterns are disrupting the wetland ecosystems the cypress thrives in.

The entire known population of Chinese Swamp Cypress in Laos is within the protected Nakai–Nam Theun National Park. The trees in Vietnam are protected in the Earal and Trap Kso nature reserves. There appear to be no remaining wild plants in China.

The Chinese Swamp Cypress was added to the IUCN Red List of Critically Endangered species in 2010 and its population is currently in decline.

It is estimated that less than 400 Chinese Swamp Cypress remain in the wild.

Citations 23:05

IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/32312/177795446

International Dendrology Society’s “Trees and Shrubs Online Database” – https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/

The Gymnosperm Database – https://www.conifers.org/

Plant diversity; volume 41, issue 4 – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pld.2019.06.007

Arnoldia; volume 78, issue 3 – https://arboretum.harvard.edu/stories/discovering-the-majestic-mai-hing-sam-of-laos/

US Forest Service’s “Anatomy of a Tree” – https://www.fs.usda.gov/learn/trees/anatomy-of-tree

Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyptostrobus_pensilis 

Music 24:50

Pledge 32:56

I honor the lifeforce of the Chinese Swamp Cypress. I will endeavor to hold its name, a seed of awe and remembrance, gently on my lips. I am grateful to have shared time on our small bright planet with this amazing being. I lament the ways in which I and my species have harmed and diminished this species.

And so, in the name of the Chinese Swamp Cypress I pledge to reduce my consumption. And my carbon footprint. And curb my wastefulness. I pledge to acknowledge and attempt to address the costs of my actions and inactions. And I pledge to resist the harm of any plant or animal kin or their habitat, by corporations and governments.

I pledge my song to the witness and memory of all life, to a broad celebration of biodiversity, and to the total liberation of all beings.