The cypress knees function not unlike the barb on a fish hook. When fierce winds push on the tree's trunk, there is exerted a distinct pull on the tree's support roots.

The Witch Tree, a cypress that fell in 1964, reminded visitors of a witch flying away from the twisted trunk on a broomstick and gave rise to ghost stories over the years.

These trees are known as Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum). The Bald Cypress is a large, slow-growing, and long-lived tree. It can reach heights of up to 120 feet with trunks up to 7 feet in diameter.

The Witch Tree, a cypress that fell in 1964, reminded visitors of a witch flying away from the twisted trunk on a broomstick and gave rise to ghost stories over the years.

Thanks to the actions of one woman, it's now reduced to a stump. ... It was considered the largest and oldest bald cypress tree in the world, standing at around 120 feet tall.

It was considered the largest and oldest bald cypress tree in the world, standing at around 120 feet tall. To put that into perspective, that’s even higher than three standard school buses ...

The trunk of the Monterey oak is growing over the root and girdling the tree. Courtesy photo Leyland cypress trees all across Texas have been dying due to a disease known as Seiridium canker.