PlantWatch

Larch (Larix laricina)

Photo by Werner Seidlitz

Also known as: tamarack, hackmatack
French name: mélèze laricin
Bloom time: April to May
Report for: YK, NT, BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PEI, NF

General: Medium-sized coniferous tree; grows up to 20 m tall, with scaly bark. In autumn, the needles turn yellow and fall from the tree.

Leaves & Twigs: The long, slender branches have small woody stumps that produce the needle bundles. Needles, 1–2.5 cm long, emerge as soft green tufts during spring growth. Each tuft can have 10–20 needles.

Flowers & Fruit: Male and female cones can appear on the same branches, but observe male cones only for PlantWatch.
Male cones: small, less noticeable mounds of yellow-brown pollen sacs that wither and fall after shedding pollen.
Female cones: pinkish-purple mini-cones about 1 cm long.

Habitat: Shade-intolerant and often found on moist to wet soils, Labrador tea is common on open peatland dominated by sphagnum moss and in open-canopy coniferous forests.

Sampling: Tag a typical tree for observation.

To Observe:

• First bloom: when the first pollen is being shed by the male cones on the observed tree (three places)
• Mid bloom when 50% of the male cones are abundantly shedding pollen.
• Leafing when the tufts of needles are lengthening considerably and starting to spread open at the tip (thre places)