Everything about Larch totally explained
Larches are
conifers in the genus
Larix, in the family
Pinaceae. They are native to much of the cooler
temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the far north, and high on
mountains further south. Larches are among the dominant
plants in the immense
boreal forests of
Russia and
Canada.
They are
deciduous trees, growing from 15-50 m tall. The shoots are dimorphic, with growth divided into long shoots typically 10-50 cm 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 cm long, slender (under 1 mm 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
There are 10-14 species; those marked '*' 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 (Gernandt & Liston 1999) doesn't 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 (Semerikov & Lascoux 1999; Wei and Wang 2003, 2004; Gros-Louis et al. 2005); there's 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
Northern, short-bracted
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
Larch is a
wood valued in for its tough,
waterproof and durable qualities; top quality knot-free timber is in great demand for building
yachts and other small
boats. 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.
In Siberia young larch leaves are harvested in spring, preserved by lactobacillus fermentation, and used for salads during winter.
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.
The tree was a
running gag in
Monty Python sketches, as in the episode "How to Recognise Different Types of Trees From Quite a Long Way Away".
And now for something completely different. . .
External links and references
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.
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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Larch'.
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