From the Montana Collection

The Incredible, Edible Larch

The settlement of western Montana is due in large part to the abundance of many different types of trees. Logging was directly responsible for the growth of many of our communities. However, trees were a valuable resource to native peoples long before the concept of "board feet". Many common plants, including flowers, bushes, and trees, were utilized by the earliest residents of this area. A cross section of these native plants are described in Montana Native Plants and Early Peoples, by Jeff Hart. One such useful plant is the Western Larch, which of course offered the added benefit of fabulous fall color...

"WESTERN LARCH, larix accidentalis Nutt. Flathead and Kutenai Indians prized a sweet syrup they got from larch trees. To obtain this syrup, they hollowed out a cavity in the trunk, allowing about one gallon of the sap to accumulate. Normal evaporation concentrated the syrup, making it considerably sweeter. They gathered this once or twice a year, depending on the individual tree, and recognized that certain trees produced a sweeter sap flow than others. Some Flatheads warned that eating too much of it "cleans you out". Flatheads also peeled the spring bark for its edible cambium layer and chewed the solidified pitch as gum.

Northern Rocky Mountain Indians discovered medicinal properties in larch. Kutenai applied the gum to cuts and bruises; they also drank a tea made from its bark for tuberculosis, while Nez Perces drank it for colds and coughs, and chewed the sap for sore throat.

Kutenais preferred rotten larch wood for smoking buckskins, claiming they came out neither too dark or too light. Nez Perces found larch wood suitable for making bowls, while others used it as fuel. Kutenai Indians were unique in that they were the only tribe west of the continental divide who practiced the religious Sundance. They chose the larch for their center pole, while tribes to the east chose cottonwood."

Hart, Jeff. Montana Native Plants and Early Peoples. Montana Historical Society Press, Helena. 1992. pg. 22