Larch Traditional Cache

Larch trees are across the road from the cache. They are the deciduous needle trees. This is a P&G cache.

Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 20 to 45 m tall (65 to 147 ft),they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south. Larches are among the dominant plants in the boreal forests of Siberia and Canada.

Although they are conifers, larches are deciduous trees that lose their leaves in the autumn. The shoots are dimorphic, with leaves borne singly on long shoots typically 10–50 centimetres long and bearing several buds, and in dense clusters of 20-50 needles on short shoots^[2] only 1–2 mm long with only a single bud. The leaves are needle-like, 2–5 centimetres long, slender (under 1 cm wide). The needles are deciduous, turning yellow and falling singly in the late autumn, leaving the trees leafless through the winter.

The female cones of larches cones are erect, small, 1–9 cm long, green or purple, ripening brown 5–8 months after pollination; in about half the species the bract scales are long and visible, and in the others, short and hidden between the seed scales. Those native to northern regions have small cones (1–3 cm) with short bracts, with more southerly species tending to have longer cones (3–9 cm), often with exserted bracts, with the longest cones and

Larches are prone to the fungal canker disease Lachnellula willkommii (larch Canker); this is particularly a problem on sites prone to late spring frosts, which cause minor injuries to the tree allowing entry to the fungal spores. In Canada, this disease was first detected in 1980 and is particularly harmful to an indigenous species larch, the tamarack, killing both young and mature trees

Larix laricina, commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories  east to Newfoundland, and also south into the upper northeastern United States from Minnesota to Cranesville Swamp, Maryland; there is also an isolated population in central Alaska.The word tamarack is the Algonquian name for the species and means "wood used for snowshoes.”

Larix laricina is a small to medium-size boreal coniferous and deciduous tree reaching 10–20 metres (33–66 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 60 centimetres (24 in) diameter. Tamaracks and Larches (Larix species) are deciduous conifers. The bark is tight and flaky, pink, but under flaking bark it can appear reddish. The leaves are needle-like, 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) short, light blue-green, turning bright yellow before they fall in the autumn, leaving the pale pinkish-brown shoots bare until the next spring. The needles are produced spirally on long shoots and in dense clusters on long woody spur shoots. The cones are the smallest of any larch, only 1–2.3 cm (0.4–0.9 in) long, with 12-25 seed scales; they are bright red, turning brown and opening to release the seeds when mature, 4 to 6 months after pollination.

Key characteristics:

    •    The needles are normally borne on a short shoot in groups of 10–20 needles.

    •    The larch is deciduous and the needles turn yellow in autumn.

    •    The seed cones are small, less than 2 cm (0.8 in) long, with lustrous brown scales.

    •    Larch are commonly found in swamps, fens, bogs, and other low-land areas.

It is very cold tolerant, able to survive temperatures down to at least −65 °C (−85 °F), and commonly occurs at the arctic tree line at the edge of the tundra. Trees in these severe climatic conditions are smaller than farther south, often only 5 m (16 ft) tall. Tamarack can tolerate a wide range of soil conditions but grows most commonly in swamps in wet to moist organic soils such as sphagum peat and woody peat. The tree is found on mineral soils that range from heavy clay to coarse sand; thus texture does not seem to be limiting. Although tamarack can grow well on calcareous  soils, it is not abundant on the limestone areas of eastern Ontario.

Tamarack is commonly an early invader. Tamarack is generally the first forest tree to invade filled-lake bogs. In the lake states, tamarack may appear first in the sedge mat, sphagnum moss, or not until the bog shrub stage. Farther north, it is the pioneer tree in the bog shrub stage. Tamarack is fairly well adapted to reproduce successfully on burns, so it is one of the common pioneers on sites in the boreal forest immediately after a fire.

Tamarack stands cast light shade and so usually have a dense undergrowth of shrubs and herbs. Because the tree has an extensive range, a great variety of shrubs is associated with it.

The wood is tough and durable, but also flexible in thin strips, and was used by the Algonquian  people for making snowshoes and other products where toughness was required. The natural crooks located in the stumps and roots are also preferred for creating knees in wooden boats. Currently, the wood is used principally for pulpwood, but also for posts, poles, rough lumber, and fuelwood; Not a major commercial timber species.

It is also grown as an ornamental tree in gardens in cold regions. Several dwarf cultivars have been created that are available commercially. Tamarack is commonly used for bonsai.

Tamarack poles were used in corduroy roads because of their resistance to rot. Tamarack trees were used before 1917 in Alberta to mark the northeast corner of sections surveyed within townships. They were used by the surveyors because at that time the very rot-resistant wood was readily available in the bush and was light to carry.Their rot resistance was also why they were often used in early water distribution systems.

Tamarack is very intolerant of shade. Although it can tolerate some shade during the first several years, it must become dominant to survive. When mixed with other species, it must be in the over story. The tree is a good self-pruner, and boles of 25- to 30-year-old trees may be clear for one-half or two-thirds their length.

Because tamarack is very shade-intolerant, it does not become established in its own shade. Consequently, the more tolerant black spruce eventually succeeds tamarack on poor bog sites, whereas northern white-cedar, balsam fir, and swamp hardwoods succeed tamarack on good swamp sites. Recurring sawfly outbreaks throughout the range of tamarack have probably speeded the usual succession to black spruce or other associates.

Various tests on planting and natural reproduction indicate that competing vegetation hinders tamarack establishment.

The shade-intolerance of tamarack dictates the use of even-aged management. Some adaptation of clear cutting or seed-tree cutting is generally considered the best silvicultural system because tamarack seeds apparently germinate better in the open, and the seedlings require practically full light to survive and grow well. Tamarack is also usually wind-firm enough for the seed-tree system to succeed. Satisfactory reestablishment of tamarack, however, often requires some kind of site preparation, such as slash disposal and herbicide spraying.

The cache is a tied in, comoed, "micro" pill bottle. The Push hard to open and close kind. It holds the standard rolled log with a rubber band and a tiny plastic bag. Please BYOP, no tweezers and put it all back as you found it.