46 B A L S A M F I R

B F Abies balsamea (L.) P. Mill.

Balsam fir occurs statewide and isthe most abundant tree in the

state. It is frequently found in dampwoods and on well-drained hillsides,and often occurs in thickets. The treenormally forms a sharp spire to aheight of 60–70 feet and grows to12–20 inches in diameter. On youngtrees, the branches are horizontal, slen-der, and produced in regular whorls toform a strikingly symmetrical crown.In old age, the top is often slim, regu-lar and spire-like.

The bark on young trees is palegray, smooth, thin and has prominentblisters that are filled with a resinousliquid known as “Canada balsam.” Onold trees the bark gets rougher andblisters are absent.

The aromatic leaves are about1 inch long, dark green, and shinyabove with 2 rows of white stomatabelow. The tips are occasionallynotched. On branches in full sun, leavesturn up, but on lower branches theyspread out at right angles to the branch,giving it a flattened appearance.

M A I N E R E G I S T E R O FB I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8

Balsam FirCircumference: 78''

Height: 104' Crown Spread: 23'

Location: T4 R3 WELS

Balsam fir is the most abundant tree

in the state.

47B A L S A M F I R

The cones are 2–4 inches long,erect and dark purple before maturity.Cones ripen in August and Septemberof the first year, and disintegrate short-ly thereafter, leaving only the centralspike-like stalks. The twigs are smoothafter the leaves have shed. Winter budsare covered with clear resin.

The wood is soft, light and moder-ately limber. It is sawed into dimensionlumber chiefly for light and mediumbuilding construction, and is usedextensively for pulp. Balsam fir isfavored for Christmas trees and greens.Each fall many tons of branch tips are collected for making Christmaswreaths. In the past, the branches weresteamed in a retort to produce oil ofbalsam. Also, the clear pitch formed inthe blisters of relatively young bark wasused to mount microscope slides and toattach theatrical costumes to bare skin.

The smooth bark with resin blisters distinguishesbalsam fir from the rest of our conifers.

Like all true firs, balsam fir conespoint upward and disintegratewhen they are mature.

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48 E A S T E R N H E M L O C K

E H Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.

Eastern hemlock is found in scat-tered stands in nearly every part

of the state. Best growth is attained onmoist, cool sites. It generally attains aheight of 60–70 feet, and a diameter of2–3 feet. The terminal shoot droopsand bends away from the prevailingwinds, quite often toward the east. Thetrunk usually tapers rapidly from thebase. This species can withstand con-siderable shading.

The bark is divided into narrow,rounded ridges covered with thickscales, and varies in color from cinna-mon-red to gray. Inner bark exposed bycuts or bruises shows a purplish tinge.

The leaves are flat, tapering,generally rounded at the apex, from⅓–⅔ inch long, with a distinct shortpetiole and so arranged that the twigappears flat. Leaves become progres-sively shorter towards the tip of thetwig. They are dark yellow-green witha lustrous upper surface, and a whitishundersurface.

The wood of the Eastern hemlock is used for

framing, sheathing, roof boards,timbers, bark mulch and pulp.

49E A S T E R N H E M L O C K

The cones are about ¾ inch long,oblong, light brown, pendant and sus-pended on short, slender stalks. Conesmature during the first autumn andgenerally remain on the branches untilthe next spring. Seeds are winged andfall during the winter. The twigs arevery fine, limber and are not pitchy.

The wood is coarse, brittle whenvery dry, light, strong and difficult towork as it is likely to separate at one ormore of the annual growth rings. It isused for framing, sheathing, roof boards,timbers and pulp. The bark was oncevaluable for tanning but has been replacedby chemicals; now it is prized for its pur-ple color when made into mulch.

M A I N E R E G I S T E R O F B I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8Eastern Hemlock Circumference: 127'' Height: 88' Crown Spread: 32' Location: North Yarmouth

When cut with a knife,Eastern hemlock barkwill show a purple color.

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50T A M A R A C K

T Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch

Tamarack, eastern larch or hack-matack is most commonly found

in cool, swampy places, although it alsogrows on well-drained soil. It is foundin scattered stands throughout thestate. It can grow rapidly and is not tol-erant of shade.

In the forest, the tree grows to aheight of 50–60 feet and a diameter of20 inches. It has a regular, narrow,pyramidal head with small, stiff hori-zontal branches.

In northern Maine, the name“juniper” is quite commonly applied tothis tree, but since juniper is the truename of another tree, its use for tama-rack is discouraged.

Tamarack is our only nativeconifer that sheds all its leaves

every fall.

51T A M A R A C K

The bark separates on the surfaceinto small, thin, irregular reddish-brown scales.

The leaves are linear, about 1 inchlong, triangular in cross section, andborne in clusters of 8 or more on spurs,except on elongating new shoots,where they occur singly. They arebright green and turn a beautiful yellow just before they fall. Tamarackprovides some of the last color of thefall, as its needles turn color after mosttrees have already shed their leaves. Itis our only native conifer that sheds all its leaves every fall.

The cones are small, nearly spher-ical, about ¾ inch long, light brown,and borne erect on stout stems. Theyopen in fall to liberate the small

N AT I O N A L A N D M A I N E R E G I S T E R O F

B I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8Tamarack

Circumference: 143''Height: 92'

Crown Spread: 31' Location: T13 R8 WELS

winged seeds and usually remain onthe tree until the following year.

The wood is rather coarse-grained, hard, heavy and strong, withdurable heartwood. It is used forplanking, timbers, ties, poles, signposts,pilings and pulp. Historically, tamarackknees (the buttresses formed by largeroots) were used in shipbuilding.Tamarack was also used for mud sills inhome construction.

On older twigs, tamarack needles occur in clusters of up to 50 on short spur branches.

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52 A T L A N T I C W H I T E C E D A R

Atlantic or coast white cedar isfound in bogs or low areas along

ponds or streams. It has a scattered dis-tribution from the mid-coast south. InMaine it rarely reaches a height of over40 feet. The short branches come outfrom a gradually tapering trunk, givingthe tree a conical appearance. Thetwigs are only slightly flattened.

The bark is fibrous, grayish to red-dish-brown, often with twisted spirals; onyoung trees it is easily pulled off in strips.

The leaves are bluish-green, scale-like, and arranged in somewhat fan-shaped clusters. When crushed, theygive off an aroma.

The cones are small, round,smooth and purplish before maturity,about ¼ inch in diameter with tack-like scales. They persist through thewinter, but are inconspicuous.

While Atlantic white cedar wood is of limited use,

small trees are cut for fenceposts and shavings are used for

pet bedding.

A W CChamaecyparis thyoides (L.) B. S. P.

53A T L A N T I C W H I T E C E D A R

M A I N E R E G I S T E R O F B I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8Atlantic White Cedar Circumference: 68'' Height: 63' Crown Spread: 19' Location: Alfred

Atlantic white cedar is rare in Maine andoccurs only in a few isolated bogs in the southand mid-coast.

The wood is light, close-grained,strongly fragrant, and light browntinged with red. It is brittle and there-fore of limited use, though small treesare cut for fenceposts. The shavings areused for pet bedding.

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54 N O R T H E R N W H I T E C E D A R

N W C Thuja occidentalis L. Northern white cedar or eastern

arborvitae is generally found inswamps, along streams, on mountainslopes and in old pastures where thesoil is moist. Dense stands are widelydistributed statewide. It is most abun-dant in the northern and eastern sec-tions, and grows best on alkaline soils.It is widely used as an ornamental. Thehead is compact, narrow and pyrami-dal. The branches are horizontal, shortand turned upward. Trees grow to 60feet in height and to 3 feet in diameter.The trunk is often strongly buttressed.

The bark has shallow fissures,which divide it into flat narrow ridges.It is reddish-brown and often tingedwith orange.

The leaves are opposite or two-ranked, usually only about ⅛ inchlong, scale-like, blunt, and so arrangedas to make the small branches flat in

Cedar has emerged as a viablealternative to pressure-treated wood.

55N O R T H E R N W H I T E C E D A R

shape. They have a pleasant aroma anda rather pleasing taste, and are a majorsource of food for deer in the winter.

The cones are erect, small, about½ inch long, with only a few pairs ofscales. They mature in one season. Theseed is small and winged.

The wood is soft and light, coarse-grained, brittle, has very durable heart-wood and a fragrant odor. It is usedprimarily for shingles, slack cooperage(barrels for dry, semi-dry or solid prod-ucts), poles, posts and rustic fencing;and it is sawed into lumber for hopechests (since the wood is said to repelmoths), siding, canoes and boats. Morerecently, cedar has emerged as a viablealternative to pressure-treated wood.Naturally weather-resistant, it is usedfor decks, post and rail fencing, out-door furniture, roof shakes, and peltstretchers.

Northern white cedar cones are about 1⁄2 inch long and often occur in large numbers.

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56 E A S T E R N R E D C E D A R

E R Juniperus virginiana L.

Eastern redcedar is not common inMaine. It grows on poor soils,

gravelly slopes, rocky ridges and onmoist, sandy ground. It is found inter-mittently in southern Maine and inBridgton, Porter, Denmark and WestGardiner. It gets the name “redcedar”from the color of the heartwood.

It is variable in its habit. Youngtrees have slender horizontal branchesand a narrow, compact, conical head.The crown of old trees becomes broadand rounded. In Maine, trees attain adiameter of 8–12 inches, and a heightof 30 feet.In Maine, Eastern redcedar is

not sufficiently plentiful to be ofcommercial importance.

57E A S T E R N R E D C E D A R

The bark on the trunk is lightbrown, tinged with red; it separatesinto long, narrow shreds on old trees.

The leaves are scale-like, overlap-ping, about 1⁄16 inch long, dark green,and remain on the tree 5–6 years, grow-ing hard and woody the third season.Branchlets appear square in cross section.Current growth and vigorous shootscontain sharp-pointed, awl-shaped leaves—the so-called “juvenile” growth.

The fruit is berry-like, globose,with 1–2 seeds, pale green at first, darkblue when ripe, and is about the sizeof a small pea.

The wood is brittle, fine-grained,light, easily worked, durable, and veryaromatic. The heartwood is a dull red.It is valuable for fence posts and panel-ing for moth-proof closets, but inMaine it is not sufficiently plentiful tobe of commercial importance. Theshavings are used as bedding for pets.

M A I N E R E G I S T E R O F B I G T R E E S 2 0 0 8Eastern Redcedar Circumference: 62'' Height: 53' Crown Spread: 38' Location: Hebron

Eastern redcedar invades old pasturelandand quickly dies out when other treesbegin to shade it.

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58 C O M M O N J U N I P E R

C J Juniperus communis L.

Common juniper is found prima-rily as a shrub in pastures and

open spaces on shallow, rocky soil. Itoccurs infrequently, primarily in thesouthern half of the state. It is occa-sionally found as a tree. Specimens upto 25 feet in height have been record-ed, but are extremely rare.

The bark is grayish-brown andoccurs in thin, longitudinal, shreddedlayers. The inner portion has a reddishtinge. The leaves occur in whorls ofthree. They are sharp, stiff, dagger-likeand persist for several seasons. They are¼–¾ inch in length. The upper surfaceis concave and marked with a broad,white line. The underside, which due

Common juniper is usually foundas a shrub rather than as a tree.

to the bending of the twigs usuallyappears uppermost, is dark green.

The fruit is dark blue, coveredwith a thin bloom and is slightly small-er than a pea. Fruits remain on thetrees during the winter, and have astrong resinous taste. The fruit is usu-ally found only on select trees sincemale and female flowers are generallyproduced on separate trees. This trait iscommon to most junipers.

The wood is hard, close-grainedand very durable.The heartwood is lightbrown. Large stems make long-lastingfence posts if the bark is removed.

Juniper shavings can be used forpet bedding. In Europe, the fruits areused to make gin.

Horses were stillcommonly used tohaul logs in theMaine woods until the 1950s.