tamarack (American larch)
Pinaceae (Pine family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Introduction
The tamarack or American larch is unusual in that it is a deciduous coniferous tree that loses its needles in the winter.
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Species Information
General:
Small tree, to 15 m (rarely 25 m) tall; delicate foliage; brownish, scaly bark; branches long, slender and pliable.
Leaves:
Needles deciduous; blue-green, turning yellow in the autumn; in bundles of 12-20 on short spur branches; 5-22 mm long.
Cones:
Seed cones egg-shaped, erect, 10-20 mm long, 7-20 mm thick, purplish, becoming brownish with age; pollen cones small, egg-shaped.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Red
Blooming Period:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
690 | 6 | 2305 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
2 | 0 | 60 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
283 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 1 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
207 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BWBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BWBS(164), ESSF(4), SBS(8), SWB(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
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Habitat and Range
Wet to moist fens, bogs, swamps and some moist, rich slopes in the montane zone; frequent in NE BC, rare southward to C BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF, and S to C AB, MN, WI, N NJ and ME.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Larix alaskensis W. Wight
Larix laricina var. alaskensis (W. Wight) Raup
Taxonomic Keys
1. Seed cones about 1-2 cm long; bracts shorter than scales; needles 1-2.5 cm long, triangular in cross-section.....................Larix laricina
1. Seed cones usually over 2.5 cm long, bracts longer than scales; needles 3-4 cm long. 2. Needles 4-angled in cross-section; young twigs strongly woolly-hairy; cones usually over 3.5 cm long; trees usually at or near timberline..........................Larix lyalli 2. Needles flattened or triangulur in cross-section; young twigs glabrous to somewhat hairy; cones rarely as much as 3.5 cm long; trees of montane forests...................Larix occidentalis Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia. |