26 



Native Trees of Canada 



LARDC OCCIDENTALIS, Nutt. WESTERN LARCH 



Common names: Western larch, larch, western tamarack, 

 tamarack. 

 French name: Meleze occidental. 

 The western larch is a large and symmetrical tree 100 to 180 ft. high and 3 to 

 4 ft. in diameter. The trunk is very long and clear, and the crown is very small 

 and narrow when growing in crowded stands. 



The bark on old trees is very thick and a splendid protection against fire. It 

 is deeply furrowed to form large ridges and is reddish-brown in colour. On young 

 trees it is thin, scaly, and greyish-brown. 



WESTERN 

 LARCH 



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The leaves are 1 to 2 in. long, triangular in cross-section and a pale yellowish- 

 green colour. They grow in clusters of fourteen to thirty at the ends of little spurs 

 along the twigs. They all drop off in the fall as do those of the other larches. 



The twigs are brittle and somewhat downy. 



