 |
| Western Larch |
So I asked a few people when I moved to my neighborhood "How is the Fall Color?" ....Well the park slows down for a bit but then the "leafers" get here in October and then "Larch Madness" starts. So I had heard of leafers before. They are tourists who come in to see the fall colors as the leaves change color on the aspens, cottonwoods and birches. But Larch Madness? What was that? A Pine tree that loses it's needles in the fall? Are you people crazy? I had never heard of such a thing.
 |
| Mt Nicholas Glacier National Park |
Well it turns out that it is the Western Larch or Tamarack. Western larch have captured
imaginations for centuries; a deciduous conifer that looks like an evergreen, a larch tree’s needles lose their chlorophyll in the fall, showing bursts of yellow and orange before the needles drop for the winter.
It’s a highly anticipated event that should be enjoyed for the simple, eye-popping pleasure of watching broad swaths of forested mountainsides crackle like fireworks, but the scientific explanation of the phenomenon is equally absorbing.
 |
| Freight Train in Glacier National Park |
According to an article from the Montana FWP, Western larch, found in western Montana and in northern Idaho, is the largest of the American larches — the U.S. Forest Service notes has discovered 700-year-old trees with a girth eight feet in diameter towering 150 feet high. Often referred to as tamaracks, in Northwest Montana they’re more likely to be western larch, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.Western larch needles take on their golden luminescence as the days grow shorter and temperatures drop. Conducting photosynthesis becomes more difficult, so the tree conserves nutrients by ceasing the process. The needles’ color changes because chlorophyll (the light-absorbing pigment that provides energy for photosynthesis) is absorbed back into the tree, leaving behind a yellow pigment, xanthophyll.
 |
| Western Larch Forrest Glacier National Park |
Their conical canopy structure, needle shape and water transport systems closely resemble those of evergreen conifers. Larches, however, save energy and avoid winter damage to their foliage by dropping their needles. This helps them grow tall and compete with other conifers.
Larches have also evolved to succeed amid wildfire and its effects on forests. They have thick bark that is low in resin content, helping them resist ground fires. They shed their bottom branches as they grow and have high canopies to stave off crown fires. Their winged seedlings spread easily in the wind and grow quickly in the mineral-rich soils of scorched ground. Mature larches are often the only trees left standing after a wildfire.
 |
| Murphy Lake Montana |
The western larch provides important food and shelter for wildlife. Several studies have documented its importance to pileated woodpeckers, which prefer it to other trees for nesting and foraging. Many other birds, rodents and small mammals will feed on and nest in both living and dead larch trees.
 |
| Pileated Wood Pecker |
Well this I had to see. I made numerous trips around the Flathead valley and saw the deciduous trees loose their leaves early because of a windstorm and early snowfall. I wondered if Larch Madness would occur.
 |
| Western Larch Swan Valley Montana |
It did of course and was I surprised. Bright orangey/yellow trees stood out from all the others. Sometimes looking like candles as the colors started at the bottom and flamed out at the top. I was addicted to Larches and was happy to even have a few in my yard.
 |
| Swan River Montana |
The Flathead valley has been amazing so far and I am wondering what the next season will bring. I know BRRRRRR!
 |
| Ice scuplture Trail of the Cedars Glacier National Park |
