Click on the images help you identify a tamarack.
Form
A straight, upright trunk extends to the top, with spreading or ascending branches. Height ranges from 40 to 70 feet, with trunk diameters of 14 to 24 inches. Large trees are rare because most old specimens were killed years ago by the larch sawfly.
Bark
The bark is rough, with thin, reddish-brown scales. Twigs are light brown and covered with numerous tiny spurs or short branches.
Leaf
Needlelike, flat, soft and slender, about 1 inch long. Needles are borne in clusters on spurlike branches and distributed singly on terminal shoots. Bright green in spring, turning dull yellow in September or October just before falling. Tamarack is the only conifer in Minnesota that sheds all its leaves each fall.
Fruit (seed)
Young cones are red or greenish, while mature cones are light brown and nearly spherical, measuring about 3/4 inch long. They open in the fall to release small, winged seeds and often remain on trees for several years.
Range
Primarily found in swamps in the coniferous forest region of northern Minnesota, occasionally occurring in drier areas where it grows larger. Also scattered southward in cold swamps throughout the hardwood region as far south as the Twin Cities. Tamaracks are shade intolerant.
Wood uses
The wood is light yellowish brown, heavy, hard, and very durable in contact with soil. It is used for posts, poles, ties, cribbing, fuel, kraft paper, and locally for lumber.