| Habit | tree |
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| Features: | ✓ | deciduous |
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Pinaceae > |
Larix > |
Read about Larch in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Larix (ancient Latin name). Pinaceae. Larch. Tamarack. Ornamental deciduous coniferous trees chiefly grown for their bright or light green foliage and regular habit. Branches whorled, at least while young:leaves linear, in crowded clusters on short spurs except on the loading shoots where they are spirally arranged: flowers monoecious; staminate flowers small, globose to oblong; solitary, consisting of numerous short-stalked, spirally arranged anthers; pistillate fls. larger, consisting of several or numerous scales, with 2 naked ovules at the base, each scale borne in the axil of a much longerbract: cone with woody, 2-seeded scales, persistent on the axis; seeds with large, thin wings, ripening the first year.— About 10 or 12 species in the colder regions and the high mountains of the northern hemisphere. The larches are handsome trees of regular pyramidal habit, but in old age becoming sometimes irregular;they are particularly handsome in spring with their light green tender foliage and studded with their usually bright purple pistillate flowers. They are all hardy North except the Himalayan L. Criffithii, and are often planted as park trees, chiefly for the light green foliage and the regular conical, or in some varieties pendulous, habit. The most beautiful is probably L. leptolepis, with the foliage turning bright yellow in fall, while the others assume only a pale yellow color. They are also very valuable forest trees, especially for the northern and mountainous regions; no forest tree goes farther north than the larch, reaching in North America 67° and in Siberia 72° of latitude. The wood is hard, heavy and very durable, and much used for construction, that of L. occidentalis being considered the best of all American conifers. From the European larch turpentine is obtained. The bark contains tannin, and an extract is used for tanning leather. The larch grows in almost any kind of soil, including clay and limestone, and prefers a somewhat moist, but well-drained soil and an open situation; the American larch grows well even in swamps. Unfortunately several insects and fungi prey on the larch, and sometimes do considerable damage, especially the leaf-eating larvae of some moths. Propagation is usually by seeds sown in spring, and the young seedlings shaded; varieties are grafted on seedlings, mostly on those of L. decidua (L.europaea), either outdoors by whip-or cleft-grafting or in the greenhouse by veneer-grafting; they may also be increased by cuttings of nearly ripened wood under glass or by layers, but this method is rarely practised. CH
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Cultivation
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Propagation
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Pests and diseases
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Species
Source: Wikipediawp
Northern, short-bracted
- Larix decidua (syn. L. europaea) European Larch. Mountains of central Europe.
- Larix sibirica Siberian Larch. Plains of western Siberia.
- Larix gmelinii (syn. L. dahurica, L. olgensis) Dahurian Larch. Plains of eastern Siberia.
- Larix kaempferi (syn. L. leptolepis) Japanese Larch. Mountains of central Japan.
- Larix principis-rupprechtii Prince Rupprecht's Larch *. Mountains of northern China (Shanxi, Hebei).
Southern, long-bracted
- Larix potaninii Chinese Larch. Mountains of southwestern China (Sichuan, northern Yunnan).
- Larix himalaica Langtang Larch *. Mountains of central Himalaya.
- Larix mastersiana Masters' Larch. Mountains of western China.
- Larix speciosa Yunnan Larch *. Mountains of southwest China (southwest Yunnan), northeast Myanmar.
- Larix griffithii (syn. L. griffithiana) Himalayan Larch. Mountains of eastern Himalaya
North American
- Larix laricina Tamarack Larch or American Larch. Plains of northern North America.
- Larix lyallii Subalpine Larch. Mountains of northwest USA and southwest Canada, at very high altitude.
- Larix occidentalis Western Larch. Mountains of northwest USA and southwest Canada, at lower altitudes.
Most if not all of the species can be hybridised in cultivation. The best known hybrid is the Dunkeld Larch Larix × marschlinsii (syn. L. × eurolepis, an illegitimate name), which arose more or less simultaneously in Switzerland and Scotland when L. decidua and L. kaempferi hybridised when planted together.
Read about Larch in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Gallery
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Siberian larch
Male (above) and female (below right) cones of Japanese Larch emerging in spring
European Larch foliage and cones
References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Larch. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Larch QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)