This tree is also known as Eastern larch, American larch, takmahak, hackmatack, red larch, and black larch. It is usually medium to large-sized, with dark turquoise needles 3/4 of an inch to 1 inch long. It is the only deciduous coniferous tree in Ontario, which means that while it reproduces through cones - usually indicating a conifer - it loses its needles in the fall, a characteristic usually found only in deciduous trees, which lose their leaves. Its young bark is grey and even, while the more mature bark is a pinkish brown. Its cones are 1/2 to 13/16 inches long. The tamarack usually grows in northern wet soils, and its uses include poles, posts and railroad ties. Animals such as snowshoe hare, porcupine and red squirrels will eat the inner bark, seeds and needles. People can eat the tamarack's shoots and inner bark, but as the taste can be quite disagreeable, it is recommended that the tamarack is used for food only in emergencies.