Tamarack can grow to about 80 feet tall and 18 inches in diameter. Tamarack usually live about 150 years. Tamarack do not have leaves, they have needles. Their needles grow in bunches of 15 to 60 needles each. Tamaracks are unusual because they loose their needles in the fall and then grow new ones in the spring.
Young trees have a smooth gray bark.
As the trees mature their bark becomes scaly and reddish-brown. Tamarack are usually found in cold, wet, poorly drained places. They are often found with black spruce and white cedar. However, they can also be found grouped together around the edges of a bog. These trees are North Americas most northerly tree.