Promoting the Use of Native Plant Species in the Home Landscape

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Tamarack

Plant Leaf

Full Plant

Plant Berry/Flower

Latin Name: Larix laricina

Flower Description:

The tree produces both male and female flowers which appear along with the needles in spring. Male flowers are yellow-green and female flowers are red. Fertilized female flowers produce a small upright cone which remains on the branch for 2 growing seasons. The tiny seeds are wind dispersed once ripened from reddish-purple to brown.

FamilyPine
Season BloomSpring
HabitatThe Tamarack or Larch is a deciduous pine tree. It is not an evergreen as we most often think of pines. It has a slender trunk with bright green, almost chartreuse, needles in spring, aging to medium green all summer, turning golden yellow in fall before dropping. Its branches are mostly horizontal. It is a larval host of the Columbia Silkmoth and is used by birds and butterflies.
Cycle
Height50-75'
Leaf DescriptionLeaves are pale to medium green needles that are soft and grow tightly clumped on side shoots. Needles form in groups of 15-20 and are short, about an inch long.
Soil Type Wet
Light Source Sun
LocationWoodland