Tamarack Larch

It is a small to medium-size deciduous coniferous tree reaching 10–20 metres tall, with a trunk up to 60 centimetres diameter. The bark is tight and flaky, pink, but under flaking bark it can appear reddish. The leaves are needle-like, 2–3 cm short, light blue-green, turning bright yellow before they fall in the autumn, leaving the pale pinkish-brown shoots bare until the next spring. The needles are produced spirally on long shoots and in dense clusters on short woody spur shoots. The cones are the smallest of any larch, only 1–2.3 cm long, with 12-25 seed scales; they are bright red, turning brown and opening to release the seeds when mature, 4–6 months after pollination.

Tamarack Larch in fall colors, with Black Spruce Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 2.3) Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Pinaceae Genus: Larix Species: L. More