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LarixdeciduaEuropeanLarch

EuropeanLarchinl'ABran,(1798m)

Vald'Annivier.

Conservationstatus

LeastConcern(IUCN2.3)

Scientificclassification

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Pinophyta

Class: Pinopsida

Order: Pinales

Family: Pinaceae

Genus: Larix

Species: L.decidua

Binomialname

LarixdeciduaMill.

LarixdeciduaFromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Larixdecidua,commonnameEuropeanlarch,isaspeciesoflarchnativetothemountainsofcentralEurope,intheAlpsandCarpathianMountains,withdisjunctlowlandpopulationsinnorthernPolandandsouthernLithuania.

Contents

1Description2Subspecies3Uses

3.1Bonsai4Ecology

4.1Invasivespecies5Larixdecidua6References7Externallinks

Description

Larixdeciduaisamediumsizetolargedeciduousconiferoustreereaching2545mtall,withatrunkupto1mdiameter(exceptionally,to55mtalland2mdiameter).Thecrownisconicwhenyoung,becomingbroadwithagethemainbranchesareleveltoupswept,withthesidebranchesoftenpendulous.Theshootsaredimorphic,withgrowthdividedintolongshoots(typically1050cmlong)andbearingseveralbuds,andshortshootsonly12mmlongwithonlyasinglebud.Theleavesareneedlelike,lightgreen,24cmlongwhichturnbrightyellowbeforetheyfallintheautumn,leavingthepaleyellowbuffshootsbareuntilthenextspring.

Theconesareerect,ovoidconic,26cmlong,with1090erectorslightlyincurved(notreflexed)seedscalestheyaregreenvariablyflushedredwhenimmature,turningbrownandopeningtoreleasetheseedswhenmature,46monthsafterpollination.Theoldconescommonlyremainonthetreeformanyyears,turningdullgreyblack.

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Europeanlarchmorphologyfeaturesfrombook:Prof.Dr.OttoWilhelmThomFloravonDeutschland,sterreichundderSchweiz,1885,Gera,Germany.

Itisverycoldtolerant,abletosurvivewintertemperaturesdowntoatleast50C,andisamongthetreelinetreesintheAlps,reaching2400maltitude,thoughmostabundantfrom10002000m.Itonlygrowsonwelldrainedsoils,avoidingwaterloggedgroundandisnotshadetolerant.

Subspecies

Therearetwosubspecies:

Larixdeciduasubsp.deciduaEuropeanLarchorAlpineLarch.Mostoftherange,exceptasbelow.Cones2.56cmshootsyellowbuff.Larixdeciduasubsp.polonicaPolishLarch.DisjunctinlowlandnorthernPoland.Cones23cmshootsverypaleyellowbuff,almostwhite.

Uses

L.deciduaiscultivatedasanornamentaltreeforplantingingardensandparks.[1]

Wood

Thewoodistoughanddurable,butalsoflexibleinthinstrips,andisparticularlyvaluedforyachtbuildingwoodusedforthismustbefreeofknots,andcanonlybeobtainedfromoldtreesthatwereprunedwhenyoungtoremovesidebranches.

Smalllarchpolesarewidelyusedforrusticfencing.

Bonsai

TheEuropeanLarchisapopularBonsaiSpecies,withmanyuniquespecimensavailableinEuropeanCircles,andispopularlyusedinBonsaiForestGroups.[2]

Ecology

Theseedsareanimportantfoodforsomebirds,notablySiskin,LesserRedpollandCitrilFinch,whilethebudsandimmatureconesareeatenbyCapercaillie.

SeealsoListofLepidopterathatfeedonlarches

EuropeanLarchneedlesaretheonlyknownfoodforcaterpillarsofthecasebearermothColeophorasibiricellaitsconescalesareusedasfoodbythecaterpillarsofthetortrixmothCydiaillutana.

Invasivespecies

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L.deciduaisclassedasawildingconifer,aninvasivespecieswhichspreadsintothehighcountryofNewZealand.ItwasplantedbytheNewZealandForestServiceforerosioncontrol.

Larixdecidua

SiberianLarchinautumncolour.

LarchemunicipalityAlbeck,districtFeldkirchen,Carinthia/Austria

Earlyspringfoliage.

EuropeanLarchwoodlandinsummer,AlpesMaritimes,France.

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EuropeanLarchfoliageandcones.

Developingseedconeindetail.

Youngseedcones(red)andpollencones(yellow).

Youngneedlesandmale'flowers'orstrobili.

SouthTyrol,WengenLaValLaValle

ParcrgionalduQueyras,Embrun,HautesAlpes,France

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WikimediaCommonshasmediarelatedtoLarixdecidua.

Autumnalforestwithlarches,sprucesandarollapinesatSeebachern

EuropeanLarchplantedforerosioncontrolonascreeslopeinCanterbury,NewZealand.

References1. "Larixdecidua"(http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=6238).RoyalHorticulturalSociety.Retrieved

23July2013.2. D'Cruz,Mark."MaKeBonsaiCareGuideforLarixdecidua"(http://makebonsai.com/guide/bonsailink.asp?

quicklink=5002&name=Larix_decidua).MaKeBonsai.Retrieved20110708.

ConiferSpecialistGroup(1998).Larixdecidua.2006.IUCNRedListofThreatenedSpecies.IUCN2006.www.iucnredlist.org(http://www.iucnredlist.org).Retrievedon12May2006.

Externallinks

ImagesofLarixdecidua(Europeanlarch)(http://www.flora33.com/en/coniferophyta/pinaceae/larix/larix_decidua.php)

Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larix_decidua&oldid=667269503"

Categories: IUCNRedListleastconcernspecies Larix TreesofEuropeGymnospermsofMetropolitanFrance FloraoftheAlps FloraofAustria FloraoftheCzechRepublicFloraofEstonia FloraofGermany FloraofItaly FloraofLithuania FloraofPolandFloraofRomania FloraofSwitzerland FloraofUkraine LeastconcernplantsTreesofhumidcontinentalclimate GardenplantsofEurope Ornamentaltrees

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