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This oddball of the forest is a valuable resource

The annual autumn colour party has been a bit of a bust this year, with maple trees avoiding brilliant crimsons and oranges for sombre yellow leaves, giving the tamarack a chance to make a statement with its bold gold and amber needles.
2018011008 Tamaracks
The tamarack tree is versatile and can be used to heal and to craft snowshoe forms. David Hawke/OrilliaMatters

The annual autumn colour party was short-lived this year, with maple trees avoiding garish crimsons and oranges, instead sporting a sombre yellow cast before expiring their leaves to the ground. Some years are a visual blast and the celebration can last a couple weeks, but 2018 has been a bit of a bust, locally at least.

However, nature has a way of balancing things and while the maples had their chance and blew it, the tamarack trees are going big time this year. Or, at least they are being noticed since the hardwoods were a disappointment.

Tamarack, also known as larch in some circles, is that oddball of the conifer tree world, in that unlike its cone-bearing cousins, it is not evergreen. As with the more popular hardwoods, when autumn arrives, the leaves (or in this case needles) are closed down for the season. Without chlorophyll to keep things green, the base colour of yellow becomes visible. And, wow, does it shine through.

 A drive down any country road at this time of year, especially if the road dips down to a wetland swamp, will easily reveal these trees that shyly grew in a forest of green over the summer. Now they stand out and rock it with their bold statements of gold and amber.

There seems to be lots of information available as to "how" these needles are shed, but little insight as to "why". 

For the last few thousand years, tamarack has repopulated the area in a post-glacier era and has a wide range of uses. Medicine for healing bruises and intestinal disorders has been obtained from the bark and sap, and the wood itself  is used for snowshoe frames.

Indeed, the original word for tamarack was hackmatack, which was derived from akemantak, which in translation means 'wood for snowshoes'.

The early colonists used lumber from tamarack whenever water was an issue. The slow growth of the tree means the cells are tight-packed, which means water has difficulty soaking in, which means its takes a very long time before rot can set in a tamarack log laying in the water.

Within the bark of these conifer trees is an abundance of a chemical called tannin. If tannin is added to water and piece of fresh cow hide is plunked in, the hide will be preserved; thus tannin was used in tanneries when hides were tanned and turned into leather.

Landscapers have been known to recommend tamarack as an interesting addition to your yard's look. Just be sure that you have a fairly wet hole in your yard as these trees like to keep their roots wet.