In this part of our state, the forests are mainly made up of pine and tamarack, with a lesser amount of fir. I love the fall color of the tamarack. It really stands out against the green of the pines. The trees get very large and majestic, with giant trunks soaring up into the wild blue yonder. When they first get their needles in the spring, they are soft to the touch and a lovely shade of "spring green." I thought about planting a couple out in the pasture, but realized that when they are bare in the winter, they would just look dead. I'd rather have an evergreen, I think. They are the best firewood you can get around here; burns very hot and clean. (Almost too hot if not mixed with fir.)

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I looked up information about this western species from the Golden Guide of Trees of North America and from a post on the web from Sevenoaks Native Nursery in Albany, Oregon. It is native to mountain valleys and slopes of alpine and sub-alpine forests from southern British Columbia & Alberta to northeast Oregon to western Montana & Wyoming. It is fast growing of over 2 feet/year and is long lived, probably over 1,000 years. It grows up to 150 feet high with a 3 to 4 feet diameter trunk. Its needles are in clusters of 15 to 30 that are 1 to 1.8 inches long. The cones are 1 to 1.5 inches long with a long bract extending from each scale. It is a good lumber tree with dense, hard wood.

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