AMERICAN LARCH
Larix laricina (DuRoi) Koch
Other Name: Tamarack.
Growth Form: Medium to large tree to 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 1½ feet; crown narrowly pyramidal.
Bark: Reddish-brown, broken into scales.
Twigs: Slender, light brown or orange, smooth; leaf scars alternate, elevated, borne on spurs, with 1 bundle trace.
Buds: Spherical, reddish-brown, up to ⅛ inch in diameter.
Leaves: Needles numerous in clusters, soft, up to about 1 inch long, light green, falling away during the autumn.
Flowers: Staminate spherical, yellow, usually not subtended by leaves; pistillate oblong, rose-colored, usually subtended by leaves.
Fruit: Cones oblong, up to ½ inch long, chestnut-brown.
Wood: Heavy, hard, durable, close-grained, orange-brown.