Traveling...Cypress Tree Have Knees?

While traveling on one of our many junkin' jaunts my friend and me stopped at this lovely garden with the cypress trees.

Notice the Spanish Moss draping from the limbs...

You can see the distinctive structure in the roots of the tree generally known as the knees. I don't know the true function of the knees but it's commonly thought to assist in anchoring the tree in the soft muddy soil of the swamps where they generally grow! ("sort of like a stick helps to hold up your beans", says my friend)

"What happens if the knees are cut?" I ask. "Most likely the tree will survive!", answers my friend. (one smart cookie, my friend!)

The distinctive shapes are a woodcarver's delight! I've seen carved and painted gnomes, Santas, and jack-o-lanterns! My uncle had a lamp made from a beautiful Knee! However today in many states it is illegal to harvest cypress knees...check before you cut!!


Have a Blessed Day!! And see ya down the junkin' road!!

Jan

(Have you any cypress knees or know where they are growing? Leave a comment! Thanks)