prettiest little pinecones ever

tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or american larch: perhaps the number of common names for a the same tree is proportional to peoples’ affection for that tree.  in which case, tamarack is a beloved tree by more people than just me.  just out of curiosity i wiki-ed  several other trees off the top of my head (black spruce, blue spruce, weeping willow, ginkgo, paper birch) to see if my theory held. it kind of did. but then i wiki-ed sequoia sempervirens (california redwood) and it only has three names…which blows my theory right out of the water, because that is probably the most beloved american tree of all. oh well, this was all a long way of saying i love tamaracks, and their incongruously petite cones.

tamarack branch with three cones (Larix laricina)