The New Student's Reference Work/Larch

Larch, the common name of the genus Larix, which belongs to the conifers. The larch is also often known as tamarack, and is peculiar among conifers in that its leaves are shed each year. The genus contains about eight species, which are widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, three occurring in North America. The single species of the northeastern United States is L. Americana, popularly called the tamarack, but also known as hackmatack. It is a slender tree, becoming about 100 feet in height, and occurs in swampy woods and about the margins of lakes. It is an ornamental tree, graceful in form, its slenderness enhanced by the dainty, threadlike character of its foliage, its color a cool, refreshing green. The tree is not found south of Illinois. It is associated with Hiawatha, who said:

Give me of your roots, O Tamarack!

Of your fibrous roots, O Larch Tree!

My canoe to bind together

That the water may not enter,

That the river may not wet me!

And the Larch with all its fibers,

Shivered in the air of morning,

Touched his forehead with its tassels,

Said, with one long sigh of sorrow:

Take them all, O Hiawatha!

Tamarack wood, light brown in color, is resinous and durable, and is used for railroad ties and in ship-building.