Larix laricina
Common name: 
Tamarack
Eastern Larch
American Larch
Pronunciation: 
LAR-iks lar-i-SI-na
Family: 
Pinaceae
Genus: 
Larix
Type: 
Conifer
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Deciduous conifer, to 65 ft (20 m), narrowly conical when young, branches thin, short, spreading horizontally, spur shoots very short and black.  Leaves linear, 2-5 cm long, flattend above and keeled below with 2 stomatal bands, or triangular or 4 sided, 12-30 or more per cluster, bluish-green.  Male flowers yellowish, small and round in clusters near branch tips; female flowers reddish brown, numerous scales, egg shaped.  Cones (seed) very small, ovate, 10-15 mm long, violet when young, then yellowish-brown, 15-20 scales.
  • Sun.  Best in moist, well-drained, acid soils.  Popular bonsai plant.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 1     Native range from the Arctic Circle in Alaska and Canada (found in every Canadian province and territory), southward to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and northern Pennsylvania.
  • laricina: apparently from Larix
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  • trees, including Eastern Larch, in a Minnesota bog

    trees, including Eastern Larch, in a Minnesota bog

  • young trees in a Minnesota bog

    young trees in a Minnesota bog

  • plant habit, in landscapes

    plant habit, in landscapes

  • branches

    branches

  • branches with cones

    branches with cones

  • needle clusters

    needle clusters

  • cones

    cones

  • plant habit, fall

    plant habit, fall

  • branches, leaves and cones, fall

    branches, leaves and cones, fall

  • trunk, bark

    trunk, bark