THE NATURALIST PAGES:

 

THE TAMARACK (Larch)

(Larix laricina)

aka: Hackmatack, Eastern Larch, Alaska Larch)

     The Tamarack is interesting for its distinctive "nonconformal" nature and its prominence in northerly areas such as "cottage country". It is a coniferous tree (bears cones) and its leaves are needle-shaped like those of most evergreens); It has a general dishevelled appearance; is colourful in the fall; and then discards all its leaves just when other drab (*) conifers around it are hunkering down in their "needle coats" for the winter. The tree is also called Hackmatack, Eastern Larch, or Alaska Larch, depending upon the locale.

     (*) Not to belittle the regular conifers - extremely important shelters and nesting sites for our winter birds!

     The Tamarack belongs to the "Larch" family and is native to Canada. It is found all across the country except in British Columbia where relatively small areas of Alpine and Western Larches are found. Tamaracks are usually found in the colder parts of the country and generally in old, long-established, wetlands (bogs) or otherwise poorly drained areas. Their low population in urban parks indicates that they do not fare well outside of their "native" environment. After checking out five parks in Toronto, I found one Tamarack growing in Edwards Gardens. Other "introduced exotic" Larches such as Japanese (Larix kaempferi) and European (Larix decidua) Larches are generally planted in the parks. These "exotics" seem to tolerate the park environment and provide the city dweller with a firsthand look at Larches. A magnificent example of a mature European Larch can be found in Rosetta McClain Park on the edge of Scarborough Bluffs

     Another species of Larch, the Siberian Larch (Larix sibiric), appears to be used in Alberta for various purposes such as windbreaks and this species has merited an agricultural bulletin (see the reference links).

     The world's largest Larch, the Western Larch (Larix occidentalis) occurs in south-eastern British Columbia and extends into Alberta. these trees can be over 200 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter.


Japanese Larch
Thomas Memorial Park,
Scarborough, Ont.
September, 1998.
European Larch
Birkdale Park,
Scarborough, Ont.
September, 1998.

 


Mature European Larch
Rosetta McClain Park
Scarborough, Ont. Early September, 1998.

 

     If you drive north of Toronto (about 60 miles), Tamaracks begin to show up with the evergreens alongside the highway in the Barrie/Orillia area . They can be easily spotted because of their distinctive lighter colour, especially in the fall when they turn a bright yellow. Tamaracks can also be found south of Toronto in special places such as the Kent Bog, in Kent, Ohio, for example. A reference link on the Kent Bog is provided.

      Larches are quite different from other conifers because they shed their needles each fall. If you grasp a Larch branch you will be surprised - The needles are quite soft because they are "new growth" every year. Quite a contrast to the prickly needles you find on the evergreen conifers. Further, the needles on a Larch are arranged differently. On new-growth twigs near the ends of the branches, the whole twig has needles as do most other conifers, but on older twigs the needles come out in individual dense clusters from conspicuous, woody, barrel-shaped pegs

     As with other conifers, the Larch bears cones. However they are small woody cones that cling to the branches over the years. These and the needle-pegs give the branches a very distinctive "warty" appearance after the needles have been shed.

      As shown in a following photograph, the Tamarack can easily be told apart from the other Larches by the very small size of its cones. The cones are about 1/2 inch long with only about 20 smooth scales whereas the "other" Larches have larger cones with many more scales. - Find a Larch with very small cones, few scales, and you've found a Tamarack!

 

IDENTIFYING THE LARCHES