PINACEAE 



Tamarack. Eastern Larch 

 Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch {Laria alaskensis Wight) 



HABIT. A small to medium-sized tree seldom over 60 feet 

 high and 1-2 feet in diameter (max. 100 by 2^/2 feet); long, 

 clear, cylindrical bole; and an open, pyramidal, irregular crown 

 with slender horizontal branches. 



LEAVES. Linear; triangular in cross section; %-l|4 inches 

 long; bright blue-green; falling in September or October; in 

 clusters of 12-20. 



FLOWERS. Male subglobose and sessile; female oblong and 

 short-stalked. 



FRUIT. Vi-/4 inch long; short-stalked, oblong to subglo- 

 bose, chestnut-brown, and falling during second year; cone 

 scale less than 20, slightly longer than broad, erose at margin, 

 glabrous and lustrous and twice as long as their bracts except 

 at base of cone. Seed: Yq inch long with light chestnut-brown 

 wings about K inch long. 



TWIGS. Slender, smooth, glaucous at first, becoming orange- 

 brown during first year. Winter buds: conspicuous, globose, 

 small, lustrous, and dark red. 



BARK. Thin and smooth on young stems; V^-% inch thick, 

 red-brown and scaly on mature trunks. 



WOOD. Heartwood yellow-brown, medium texture, strong, 

 hard, heavy, and durable; not widely used, chief uses being 

 poles, railroad ties, and rough lumber. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Intolerant; growth moderate, 

 maturity being reached in 100-200 years; reproduction vigor- 

 ous on favorable sites; shallow root system; larch sawfly and 

 fire cause serious damage. 



HABITAT. Hudsonian and Canadian zones; restricted to 

 sphagnum bogs or swamps in southern part of range and making 

 best growth on moist beaches and well-drained uplands further 

 north; chiefly with black spruce, also balsam fir, aspen, birch, 

 and jack pine; extending northward to limits of tree growth. 



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