Larches aredeciduousconifers in the genusLarix, of the familyPinaceae. Growing to as much as 60 m (195 ft) tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They grow in lowland forests in the far north, and high in mountains further south. Larches are among the dominant plants in theboreal forests ofSiberia and Canada, making them the most abundant genus of trees on earth. Larch wood is tough and relatively durable. The wood is used inboatbuilding,cladding,decking,garden furniture,fencing, and construction. Products extracted from larch includearabinogalactan,rosin,turpentine, and anessential oil.
The English namelarch was recorded in 1548 by the botanistWilliam Turner. It derives from the GermanLärche, in turn from theMiddle High Germanlarche, which is conjectured to derive from an unrecordedOld High German name for the tree,*larihha. That derives from theLatin name of the tree,Larix.[1] The Latin name probably was loaned from aGaulish language spoken in theAlps.[1]
The tallest species,Larix occidentalis, can reach 50 to 60 m (165 to 195 ft). Larch tree crowns are sparse, with the major branches horizontal and in whorls; the second and third order branchlets are roughly horizontal in some species,pendulous in others. Larch shoots are dimorphic, with needle-like leaves borne singly on long shoots with severalbuds, and in dense clusters of 20–50 needles on short shoots with only a single bud.[2]: 47 Larch wood is resinous. The bark of young trees is smooth; that of older trees is thick and scaly. Larches are among the fewdeciduous conifers, which are usually evergreen.[3]
The male (pollen) cones are small, on the ends of shoots that die after pollination.[3] The female (seed)cones are small, typically erect, and take 4–7 months to reach maturity after pollination.[3] The seed scales spread apart when mature, allowing the winged seeds, two per scale, to fall out.[3] The leaflikebract scales can be either long and visible (exserted) or short and hidden between the seed scales.[3]
Male (above) and female (below right) cones ofLarix kaempferi emerging in spring, Japan
The genusLarix is present in all the temperate-cold zones of theNorthern Hemisphere, from North America to northernSiberia passing through Europe, mountainous China and Japan. The larches are important forest trees of Russia,Central Europe, the United States and Canada. They require a cool and fairly humid climate, and for this reason, they are found in the mountains of the temperate zones, while in the northernmost boreal zones, they are also found in the plains. Larch trees go further north than all, reaching in North America and Siberia thetundra and polar ice.[4] The larch speciesLarix gmelinii is the world's most northerly-growing tree, at 75° north in theTaymyr Peninsula.[5]
Worldwide distribution of genusLarix.[6] Positions are diagrammatic.
The larches arepioneer species not very demanding of thesoil and they are very long-lived trees. They live in pure or mixed forests together with other conifers or more rarely with broad-leaved trees. In 1965, larch constituted 40.2% of the forests of theSoviet Union and had a cumulative volume of 28,450 million m³, (28.45 cubic kilometres, or 6.8 cubic miles) of solid wood; by a wide margin, the most abundant genus of trees on earth.[4]
The genusLarix belongs to the subfamilyLaricoideae, which includes the Douglas firs, genusPseudotsuga. The genusCathaya was included in some older studies,[7] but based ontranscriptome analysis, is now considered closer toPinus andPicea.[8][9] The split ofLarix fromPseudotsuga occurred about 45 million years ago.[6]
Larix griffithii inBhutan, a species with long bracts. This attribute had been thought to define a group within the genus.[10]
The genusLarix was described by the English botanistPhilip Miller in 1754.[11][12] In the 20th century, cone bract length was 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, indicating instead that the cone and bract size are merely adaptations to climatic conditions.[13][9][14]
Late 20th century and early 21st century genetic studies 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;[10][15][16][17] there was dispute over the position ofLarix 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.[6] Ten species and one natural hybrid of larch are accepted byPlants of the World Online (POWO),[18] following theconservative treatment in Farjon (2010);[7] several others are accepted by theFlora of China.[19]
However, a 2025 study by Qiu and colleagues cast doubt on the species circumscriptions accepted by Farjon and the POWO;[6] it showed thatLarix himalaica is close toL. griffithii as geographic parsimony would predict (and not toL. potaninii as Farjon believed), and thatL. speciosa is distinct and should be treated as a separate species. Conversely, they found thatL. mastersiana was embedded withinL. potaninii and may be best synonymised with it. Their results showed that the division between Old World and New World species as suggested by earlier studies is not correct, but rather, the primary divide is between the high-latitude circumboreal species, and the low latitude Sino-Himalayan species group, as shown in thecladogram.[6]
Larix × marschlinsii, the Dunkeld larch, a commercially importanthybrid
Most larches can behybridised in cultivation;[20] these hybrids are not discussed by POWO as they are not of natural occurrence.Larix ×marschlinsiiCoaz (syn.L. ×eurolepis), theDunkeld larch, a hybrid ofL. decidua ×L. kaempferi, is by far the best known: it is of major importance inforestry in northern Europe. It arose more or less simultaneously in Switzerland and Scotland in 1901–1904.[21] Other named hybrids includeLarix ×pendula(Sol.) Salisb. (L. decidua ×L. laricina),[22] andLarix ×eurokurilensisRohm. (L. decidua ×L. gmelinii).[20]
Larches are associated with somemycorrhizal fungal species, including species which primarily or only associate with larch. One of the most prominent of these is thelarch boleteSuillus grevillei.[23] Larch is used as a food plant by thelarvae of moths such as the larch pug,Eupithecia lariciata.[24]The large larch bark beetle,Ips cembrae, can be harmful to already-weakened larch trees, but is in general a less serious threat than a related species, the spruce bark beetleIps typographus, is tospruces.[25]
Larches are prone to thefungalcanker diseaseLachnellula spp. (larch canker); this is a problem when late spring frosts cause minor injuries to the tree, allowing entry to the fungal spores. In Canada, this disease was first detected in 1980; it killsLarix laricina of any age.[27]Larches are vulnerable toPhytophthora ramorum. In 2013 the disease appeared in theAfan Forest Park in southWales.[28]Laricifomes officinalis is another mushroom found in Europe, North America and northern Asia that causes internal wood rot. It is almost exclusive to the genusLarix. Other diseases are caused by mushrooms, fungal rusts, and bacteria.[29]
Larchtimber has many uses, includingboatbuilding, exteriorcladding, and interior panelling. Outdoor uses includefencing, gates,decking,garden furniture, andplayground equipment. Since theheartwood is strong, durable, and available in large sizes, it is used for structures such as agricultural buildings. TheSavill Building inWindsor Great Park has a timber roof shell made of many relatively thin laths, interlocking to provide strength. The wood is used, too, as fuel in industrialbiomass energy plants. The bark used as amulch inhorticulture.Arabinogalactan, used in animal feed, cosmetics, and medicines, is extracted from heartwood. Larch trees can be tapped for liquid to be distilled intoVenice turpentine. The tree yieldsrosin for violin bows and anessential oil used inaromatherapy.[30] European Standard EN 350-2 lists larch as slightly to moderately durable.[31]Dunkeld larch is widely grown as its timber is durable and strong, and the tree tolerates poor weather better than non-hybrid larches.[32]
Larch wood in use to restore the Concordia mill, Netherlands
The roof shell of theSavill Building is made of interlocking larch laths.[30]
The Roman architectVitruvius conjectured in hisDe architectura that the Latin name for timber from the tree,larigna, came from the town of Larignum, whereJulius Caesar, besieging the town, supposedly discovered the larch.[33] More recently, theMonty Python comedy troupefilmed a sketch with three schoolboys shown slides of the larch and asked which trees they were able to identify.[34]
^abVidaković, Mirko (1991).Conifers (English ed.). Croatia: Grafički Zavod Hrvatske. pp. 255–281.
^Candolle, Roger de; Burdet, Hervé M. (1983). "The correct name of the Dunkeld, or Hybrid, Larch".International Dendrology Society Yearbook.1982:67–68.
^European Standard EN 350-2 (1994); Durability of Wood and Wood-based Products – Natural Durability of Solid Wood: Guide to natural durability and treatability of selected wood species of importance in Europe
Givnish, Thomas J. (2002)."Adaptive significance of evergreen vs. deciduous leaves: solving the triple paradox"(PDF).Silva Fennica.36 (3):703–743.doi:10.14214/sf.535.Archived(PDF) from the original on 7 April 2014.The larch paradox—Finally, let us turn to one last, enduring ecological paradox: the deciduous habit of larches (Larix) at high latitudes in nutrient-poor peatlands in the northern hemisphere, where evergreen plants are expected to dominate and often do. Quote from p. 729.
Phillips, D. H., & Burdekin, D. A. (1992).Diseases of Forest and Ornamental Trees. MacmillanISBN0-333-49493-8.
![Worldwide distribution of genus Larix.[6] Positions are diagrammatic.](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aLarch_distribution.svg)
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![The larch bolete Suillus grevillei, a mycorrhizal mushroom, always grows under larches.[26]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSuill.grev.jpg)
![The roof shell of the Savill Building is made of interlocking larch laths.[30]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSaville_Building_roof_interior_long.jpg)
