Tamarack (Larix laricina)

Tamarack is a domestic softwood

Location

Tamarack (Larix laricina), also known as eastern larch and locally as hackmatack, is a small to medium tree with a straight, round, slightly tapered trunk. It grows from Maine to Minnesota, with the bulk of the stand in the Great Lake States.

Characteristics

The heartwood of tamarack is yellowish brown to russet brown. The sapwood is whitish, generally less than 2.5 cm (1 in.) wide. The wood is coarse in texture, without odor or taste, and the transition from earlywood to latewood is abrupt. The wood is intermediate in weight and in most mechanical properties.

Primary Uses

Tamarack is used principally for pulpwood, lumber, railroad crossties, mine timbers, fuel, fence posts, and poles. Lumber is used for framing material, tank construction, and boxes, pallets, and crates. The production of tamarack lumber has declined in recent years.

*Much of the base wood information presented here is made available by the USDA FPL FS. If you are interested in a much more technical description of wood properties, I encourage you to visit the source.