It belongs to the Taxodiaceae Family, with the Latin name of Glyptostrobus pensilis.

The half-evergreen arbor can grow up as high as 25 meters, with a chest diameter of 60 to 120 centimeters. It has taupe or brown bark that cracks into irregular slivers with light russet hypophloedes. The branches are sparse and stretching flatly, with the top branches stretching slantways. The leaves are imbricate or thin diamond-shaped or linear, of which those borne on the old branches are very small and imbricate. It bears obovoid, flat and woody seminiferous squamae, on the back top of which are 6 to 9 pointed teeth, recurvate and triangular; and on the middle part of which is a recurvate cusp. There are membranous long wings at the bottom of the seed.

Shuisong likes to grow in warm and moist areas of eastern tropic zone of Central Asia and in the east of north tropical zone. The photophilous plant can endure moist and grow in different kinds of earth except the alkaline land. It has a developed root system in its seedling period. After 10 years or more, the axial root stops to grow while the branch roots thrive. The Shuisong on waterside or in swampland has a swollen rod-shaped trunk bottom, with respiratory roots above earth or water. It needs enough sunshine and fertile and moist earth in its seedling period. The florescence lasts from February to March and the cones ripen in September and October.

It is sparsely distributed in the south of Guangdong, Fujian provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Whereas the main growing area is the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong Province and lower reaches of Minjiang River in Fujian Province. As a peculiar mono-genus plant of China and a surviving species of the tertiary period, it bears great importance for scientific research. It is a light, soft and waterproof timber, and can be used as high-quality construction materials. Its woody root is even lighter, with a specific gravity of 0.12; therefore it can be used to produce life rings and corky appliances.