Posts Tagged ‘tamaracks’

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Report Dead or Dying Eastern Larch Trees (Tamaracks) to DEC

tamarackDEC has been receiving reports of dead and quickly-dying eastern larch/tamarack trees (Larix laricina) in the Adirondack region. Upon inspection, the trees have been found to be infested with the eastern larch beetle (Dendroctonus simplex LeConte) an insect native to NY that very rarely attacks healthy trees in the northeast.

DEC is seeking additional reports of dead or dying eastern larch trees in the Adirondacks so that we can better determine if this is a local infestation or a larger outbreak. If you have seen any in this region, please report it by sending photos and location information to DEC at foresthealth@dec.ny.gov, or by calling your local DEC office and speaking with a forester. You can find tamarack photos and identification tips on the Wild Adirondacks website.

Photo by Melissa Hart from the Paul Smith’s College VIC


Sunday, November 1, 2020

Fun facts about tamaracks

The word tamarack is the Algonquian name for the species and means “wood used for snowshoes.” The Ojibwa word is muckigwatig, meaning swamp tree. Other names include hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch–the list goes on. How ever you choose to refer to it, Larix laricina is a fascinating tree. Used as an edible (boiled tender spring roots are eaten, the inner bark can be ground for flour, teas can be brewed from the needles and roots) to medicinal (wound treatment, expectorant and fever reducer, to name a few) and as a building material, Native Americans have used tamarack for numerous applications.
Referred to as a ‘deciduous’ conifer, tamarack drop their leaves each fall as day length shortens and temperatures fall. Abundant in bogs and other wet areas, it can tolerate drier soils as well. Individuals can live up to 180 years.
Photo by Melissa Hart, taken at the Paul Smith’s College VIC


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