THE AMERICAN LARCH OR TAMARACK 



THE American Larch, often called also Tamarack or Hacmatac, is especially notable 

 because it is a deciduous conifer, the leaves falling off every autumn. Like all 

 the Larches, the small needle-shaped leaves are borne in dense clusters at the 

 tips of very short branches. This gives to the foliage of the tree a distinctive appearance 

 which enables one to distinguish it at a distance, even in summer, from any of our other 

 native conifers. On the approach of autumn the dark green leaves change to a pale yellow 

 and later fall to the ground, this generally taking place during October. 



The Tamarack is essentially a tree of the cold North, ranging from the Arctic Circle 

 south to Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and Minnesota. It is one of the most character- 

 istic trees of lowland swamps, forming in many localities extensive forests. It is occasion- 

 ally found growing on higher lands, but seems to thrive most successfully in wet situations. 

 The long, fibrous roots of the trees growing in the swamps were used by the Indians 

 in making their birch-bark canoes, a fact of which Longfellow made mention in the well- 

 known lines in "Hiawatha:" 



"Give me of your roots, O Tamarack! 

 Of your fibrous roots, O Larch Tree! 

 My canoe to bind together, 

 So to bind the ends together 

 That the water may not enter, 

 That the river may not wet me!" 



The Tamarack blossoms very early in spring, generally during the last week in 

 March or the first two weeks in April. The seed-bearing flowers are of a beautiful deep 

 red color, which is one of the most brilliant and characteristic hues to be found in the 

 spring forest. These seed-bearing flowers are erect at the tips of short branches. The 

 cones are short and broad, and not nearly so attractive in form as those of the European 

 Larch or the Spruces and the Pines. These cones remain upon the tree for a year or more 

 after they have shed the small winged seeds. 



In the more northern parts of its range the Tamarack is much more likely to grow 

 on well-drained uplands than in New England. It commonly attains a height of fifty or sixty 

 feet and a trunk diameter of about eighteen inches, being a straight, slender tree of decided 

 beauty when growing in the open. In the North it is useful for ornamental planting, takings 

 on as it matures more picturesque shapes than the European Larches. It thrives, as one 

 would expect, better in moist than in dry situations, and it should be transplanted either 

 in autumn after the leaves have fallen or very early in spring before the young leaves begin 

 to develop. 



In the Northwest the Western Larch (Larix occidentalis) is an important timber 

 tree reaching a height of two hundred and fifty feet, and furnishing lumber of great, 

 value for many purposes. It is one of the most splendid trees of all the tribe of 

 conifers. 



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