Western Larch

Description

Western Larch is the most commercially important Larix species in North America. It’s also one of the hardest softwoods in the United States, with a Janka hardness of 830 lbf—about as hard as American Elm. Heartwood ranges from yellow to a reddish brown. Narrow sapwood is yellowish white and is clearly demarcated from the heartwood. Flatsawn sections can exhibit a lot of character and interesting patterns in the growth rings. Knots are common but are usually small. Small resin canals, infrequent and variable in distribution; solitary or in tangential groups of several; earlywood to latewood transition abrupt, color contrast high; tracheid diameter medium-large. (Growth rings are generally narrower in Western Larch than in Tamarack.)