GOLDEN HACKMATACKS

They turn to gold this time of year. The hackmatacks, also known as tamaracks and larch, are one of Maine’s minor forest species, but they are notable for several reasons.

Hackmatacks are one of the few deciduous conifers, meaning they drop their needles, just as most leaf-bearing trees drop their leaves in the fall. The green needles now have turned to gold, in beautiful contrast to the dark green of the spruces and pines. Soon the hackmatacks will stand bare until tiny new light green needles appear in the spring.

Ken Laustsen of the Maine Forestry Department, a biometrician who keeps track of such matters, says the hackmatack is a most prized species. The root has a unique sharp curve up to the trunk, suitable for the curved braces called knees that support the thwarts and brace the stern corners on a wooden boat. Mr. Laustsen says the heartwood is especially hard and resistant to soil. He recalls that loggers once used it for the floors of the “hovels” they built in the forest to keep their horses overnight.

Newman Gee, a certified logger, still sells hackmatack knees as well as furniture from his shop in St. Albans, which he calls Newman’s Knees. He says the wood is so durable that it was used for railroad ties and telephone poles before creosote came along.

So, when you see those golden hackmatacks, think utility as well as beauty.