Tamarack, Eastern Larch

Latin name: Larix laricina

Etymology: It’s Latin name translates to ‘larch-like Larch’. Tamarack is the Algonquian name for the species and means ‘wood used for snowshoes’.

Family: Pinaceae (Pines)

Origin: Canada and upper north-eastern US

Native habitats: Northern swamps

Native to northern swamps, this one tamarack tree in Herrontown Woods, next to Veblen House, was surely planted. Its short needles grow in clusters at the tips of short-shoots. Once common further north, the tamarack was decimated through much of its range by the introduced larch sawfly.

Description: Larix laricina is a small to medium-size boreal deciduous conifer tree reaching 50–75 ft tall, with a trunk up to 24 inch diameter. The bark of mature trees are reddish, the young trees are gray with smooth bark. The leaves are needle-like, 2.5 cm (1 in) short, light blue-green, turning bright yellow before they fall in the autumn, leaving the shoots bare until the next spring. The needles are produced in clusters on long woody spur shoots. The cones are the smallest of any larch, less than one inch long, with 12-25 seed scales; they are bright red, turning brown and opening to release the seeds when mature, 4 to 6 months after pollination.

Similar species: Tamarack in winter can be mistaken for a dead conifer, due to being deciduous.

Wildlife value: The horizontal rows of holes in this tree were made by sapsuckers that then feed on the sap that comes out, and any insects that get trapped there.

Uses: Rot resistant and lightweight, the wood was once used for posts.