Nov 11, 2010


By Lorraine Julien

In late autumn, when the air is crisp and most leaves have drifted to the earth, Tamaracks put on a show of their own. The Tamarack (Larix Laricina) is the only native needle-leaved tree in eastern Canada that is not an evergreen.

Once October is here, healthy Tamaracks, with their soft lacy needles, suddenly turn into striking shades of gold. The show usually lasts until late October or early November. This year the needles seemed to drop quickly though, with the heavy rains and winds we’ve had. Once the needles have fallen, the trees look like dead sticks, totally bare-branched until new light-green foliage begins again in May. Unless you are familiar with the tree’s cycle, it’s easy to think the trees have died.

Tamaracks are a species of Larch native to Canada and North America. They love wet feet and are often found around the edges of swamps and bogs where their wide, spreading roots can obtain nutrients and oxygen from moving water. The roots are very shallow though and, as a result, they are very susceptible to high winds. I know that first hand as we had a beautiful Tamarack at the front of our cottage; during a fierce summer storm, it was twisted and broken. They are sometimes sheltered from high winds, however, by their companion tree, the Black Spruce.

In late summer, tiny, finger-nail sized cones begin to open and drop tiny, flaky-winged seeds throughout the fall, with big cone crops every few years. The cones and seeds are quickly gathered and eaten by many creatures of the forest including chipmunks, red squirrels, mice, chickadees and red crossbills. Unfortunately, porcupines love Tamarack’s inner bark in winter and will sometimes girdle and kill the trees.

The name “Tamarack” comes from an Algonquian word, Akemantak, meaning “wood used for snowshoes” – a very appropriate name. The wood is tough, durable and relatively light, but also flexible in thin strips, hence the material was perfect for snowshoes. Aside from snowshoes, native groups had many medicinal uses for this tree:

 Resin was chewed to relieve indigestion.

The inner bark has been used as a poultice to treat cuts, infected wounds, frostbite, boils and hemorrhoids!

The outer bark and roots have also been used in combination with other plants as a treatment for arthritis, cold and general aches and pain

In the days of wooden sailing ships, Tamarack roots (because of their shape and strength) were used to join the ribs to the deck timbers.

Currently the wood is used mainly for pulpwood but, since it is very rot resistant, it’s also used for posts and poles, and rough lumber. In western Canada, as late as the early 1900s, Tamarack wood was used by surveyors to mark sections of land because the wood was light to use, readily available in the forests and very resistant to rot.

This versatile tree, with its beautiful soft, green needles, is also a favourite tree to be trained for Bonsai plants.

It’s interesting to note that Tamarack is usually the first forest tree to reproduce successfully after a forest fire. Though it usually prefers wet conditions, a Tamarack in an open well-drained area can grow up to 10 times as fast – often reaching 15 meters in 25 years. When a low-growing Tamarack branch touches the ground, it can root and send up a new version of the parent tree.

It’s early November now and the Tamaracks have lost most of their needles and, hence their colour in North Frontenac. I did notice a few Tamarack stands along Highway 7 this past week but those that still had needles had faded to a dull, brownish gold.

 

Please feel free to report any observations to Lorraine Julien at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or Steve Blight at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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