You don’t hear people say much about them. But I happen to think they are one of the highlights of the fall colours. The gold of the larch. Or hackmatack. Or tamarack. Or, if you’ve ever tried to cut one down, you’ve probably come up with a few other names for them which might not be suitable for this space. But the only coniferous tree that drops its needles every year is looking pretty nice at the moment.
They have turned their usual lovely gold colour and are looking pretty nice at the moment. And in the spring, when the new needles appear, they have a softer green colour than many other trees. In fact, they almost look cuddly, with their brand new needles that haven’t quite hardened yet.
They are very much a northern tree and a big part of swampy areas. Mostly because they don’t like shade, so they tend to grow in areas where other trees don’t grow.
The name, or some of the names, apparently come from the Algonquin word akemantac, which translates as “wood used for snow shoes”. While they would make great snow shoes, I’m sure, working with wood as hard as this stuff tends to be would certainly not be easy.
But just looking at them is nice. Especially this time of year with their nice gold colour.
