Tamarack
Plants of the The Taiga PlainsBalsam Poplar | Black Spruce | Cloudberry | Horsetail | Red Osier Dogwood Scrub Birch | Siberian Yarrow | Sphagnum Moss | Tamarck Trembling Aspen | White Spruce Larix laricinaAppearanceThe Tamarack is a short deciduous tree that usually only grows as high as 15 meters with 3 sided needles in clusters of 12-20. The bark is thin and scaly and is reddish -brown in colour. The branches of the tree are long and slender and the cones produced by the Tamarack are small and egg-shaped, changing colour from red to brown with age. Range & HabitatThis species can be found growing east of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern BC with some stands in the central BC area around the Nechako Valley. They are able to live in soils that have poor drainage so their natural habitat is bogs and swamps and lower mountain slopes. Life CycleThe Tamarack is part of a unique species of trees that shed their needles in the fall after turning a bright yellow colour. Animal UsesTamaracks can provide a place for small animal and bird nesting and protection. Traditional First Nations UsesThe pitch of the tree was used for cosmetics and hair products after mixing it with grease, and the roots of the Tamarack were useful in sewing bark onto canoes. The bark was used as a laxative, for skin ailments, gargled with for sore throats in the form of a tea. The spring shoots can be boiled and eaten. Modern UsesThe Tamarack was once used by ship-builders in joining the ribs of a boat to the deck timbers, and it is also used for many other things like pulp, fuel and making posts. Status
COSEWIC: Not at Risk
More Informationhttp://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/wilderness/forest/tamarack.htm |
