Larch

For other uses, see Larch (disambiguation).

Larch
Larix decidua in autumn
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Pinaceae
Genus:	Larix Philip Miller
Species
About 10–14; see text

Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south. Larch are among the dominant plants in the immense boreal forests of Russia and Canada.

Although a conifer, the larch is a deciduous tree and loses its leaves in the fall. The shoots are dimorphic, with growth divided into long shoots typically 10–50 centimetres long and bearing several buds, and short shoots only 1–2 mm long with only a single bud. The leaves are needle-like, 2–5 centimetres long, slender (under 1 cm wide). They are borne singly, spirally arranged on the long shoots, and in dense clusters of 20–50 needles on the short shoots. The needles turn yellow and fall in the late autumn, leaving the trees leafless through the winter.

Larch cones are erect, small, 1–9 cm long, green or purple, ripening brown 5–8 months after pollination; in about half the species the bract scales are long and visible, and in the others, short and hidden between the seed scales. Those native to northern regions have small cones (1–3 cm) with short bracts, with more southerly species tending to have longer cones (3–9 cm), often with exserted bracts, with the longest cones and bracts produced by the southernmost species, in the Himalaya.

Species and classification

Siberian larch.

There are 10–15 species; those marked with an asterisk (*) in the list below are not accepted as distinct species by all authorities. In the past, the cone bract length was often used to divide the larches into two sections (sect. Larix with short bracts, and sect. Multiserialis with long bracts), but genetic evidence does not support this division, pointing instead to a genetic divide between Old World and New World species, with the cone and bract size being merely adaptations to climatic conditions. More recent genetic studies have proposed three groups within the genus, with a primary division into North American and Eurasian species, and a secondary division of the Eurasian into northern short-bracted species and southern long-bracted species; there is some dispute over the position of Larix sibirica, a short-bracted species which is placed in the short-bracted group by some of the studies and the long-bracted group by others.

Eurasian

Male (above) and female (below right) cones of Japanese Larch emerging in spring.

Northern, short-bracted

• Larix decidua (syn. L. europaea) European Larch. Mountains of central Europe.
• Larix sukaczewii Russian Larch *. Russia west of Ural Mountains.
• Larix sibirica Siberian Larch. Plains of western Siberia.
• Larix gmelinii (syn. L. dahurica) Dahurian Larch. Plains of central Siberia.
• Larix cajanderi (syn. L. dahurica) 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).
  • Olgan Larch or Olga Bay Larch (Larix gmelinii var. olgensis) is sometimes treated as a distinct species Larix olgensis.

Southern, long-bracted

European Larch foliage and cones.

• Larix potaninii Chinese Larch. Mountains of southwestern China (Sichuan, northern Yunnan).
• Larix himalaica Langtang Larch *. Mountains of central Himalayas.
• Larix mastersiana Masters' Larch. Mountains of western China.
• Larix speciosa Yunnan Larch *. Mountains of southwest China (southwest Yunnan), northeast Burma.
• Larix griffithii (syn. L. griffithiana) Himalayan Larch. Mountains of eastern Himalaya

North American

• Larix laricina Tamarack Larch or American Larch. Parts of Alaska and throughout Canada and the northern United States from the eastern Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic shore.
• Larix lyallii Subalpine Larch. Mountains of northwest United States and southwest Canada, at very high altitude.
• Larix occidentalis Western Larch. Mountains of northwest United States 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.

Larch is used as a food plant by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species - see list of Lepidoptera that feed on larches.

Larches are prone to the fungal canker disease Lachnellula willkommii (Larch Canker); this is particularly a problem on sites prone to late spring frosts, which cause minor injuries to the tree allowing entry to the fungal spores.

Uses

European Larch male 'flowers' or strobili.

Larch is a wood valued for its tough, waterproof and durable qualities; top quality knot-free timber is in great demand for building yachts and other small boats, for exterior cladding of buildings and interior panelling. The timber is resistant to rot when in contact with the ground, and is suitable for use as posts and in fencing. The hybrid Dunkeld Larch is widely grown as a timber crop in northern Europe, valued for its fast growth and disease resistance.

Larch has also been used in herbal medicine; see Bach flower remedies for details.

In central Europe larch is viewed as one of the best wood materials for the building of residences. Planted on borders with birch, both tree species were used in pagan "sagged" cremations. One "sąg" (pronounced song) of wood was required for a cremation stack. Sąg is used today as a Polish forestry unit measuring approximately 3 × 1 × 1 m.

Larches are often used in bonsai culture, where their knobby bark, small needles, fresh spring foliage and especially autumn colour are appreciated. European Larch, Japanese Larch and Tamarack Larch are the species most commonly trained as bonsai.

In popular culture

• The larch figures significantly in the third episode of the British comedy TV series Monty Python's Flying Circus, "How to Recognise Different Types of Trees from Quite a Long Way Away".

• The Scottish sport of Tossing the Caber typically uses a Larch tree about 19'6" long and weighing about 175 pounds.

References

Bibliography

• Gernandt, D. S. & Liston, A. (1999). "Internal transcribed spacer region evolution in Larix and Pseudotsgua (Pinaceae)" (PDF). American Journal of Botany. 86 (5). Botanical Society of America: 711–723. doi:10.2307/2656581. JSTOR 2656581.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Gros-Louis, M.-C., Bousquet, J., Pâques, L. E., & Isabel, N. (2005). Species-diagnostic markers in Larix spp. based on RAPDs and nuclear, cpDNA, and mtDNA gene sequences, and their phylogenetic implications. Tree Genetics & Genomes 1 (2): 50–63. Abstract.
• Gymnosperm Database: Larix
• Phillips, D. H., & Burdekin, D. A. (1992). Diseases of Forest and Ornamental Trees. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-49493-8.
• Semerikov, V. L., & Lascoux, M. (1999). Genetic relationship among Eurasian and American Larix species based on allozymes. Heredity 83: 62–70.
• Wei, X.-X., & Wang, X.-Q. (2003). "Phylogenetic split of Larix: evidence from paternally inherited cpDNA trnT-trnF region". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 239: 67–77. doi:10.1007/s00606-002-0264-3.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Wei, X.-X., & Wang, X.-Q. (2004). "Recolonization and radiation in Larix (Pinaceae): evidence from nuclear ribosomal DNA paralogues". Molecular Ecology. 13 (10): 3115–3123. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02299.x. PMID 15367124.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)