Tamarack
Larix laricina
Tamarack is North America's deciduous conifer, its soft needles flushing bright green in spring and turning glowing gold before dropping in fall. A bog and muskeg tree for cold, wet, acidic ground. Young shoots have served as emergency food, and the roots and branches both brew into a tea.
- Family
- Pinaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 40–80 ft
- Spacing
- 15–30 ft apart
- Light
- sun, shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- April
- Bloom colors
- red, yellow, green, brown
- Wildlife value
- songbirds, butterflies, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~121 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- rain garden
- Native states
- AK, CT, IL, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT, WI, WV