2 



8ILVA OF NORTE AMERICA. 



CONIFERjE. 



the flower, more or less erose on the margins, often longitudinally striate, longer or shorter than their 

 bracts, gradually decreasing in size from the centre of the cone to the ends, the small scales usually 

 sterile, persistent on the central axis of the cone after the escape of the seeds. Seeds geminate, 

 reversed, attached at the base in shallow depressions on the inner face of the scales, nearly triangular, 

 rounded on the sides, in falling bearing away portions of the membranaceous lining of the scale f orm- 

 ino" oblong or obovate-oblong wing-hke attachments longer than the seeds ; testa of two coats, the outer 

 crustaceous, light brown, the inner membranaceous, light chestnut-brown and lustrous. Embryo axile 

 in copious fleshy albumen ; cotyledons usually six, much shorter than the inferior radicle. 



Larix is now widely distributed over the boreal and mountainous regions of the northern hemi- 

 sphere, ranging from the Arctic Circle to the mountains of Pennsylvania in the New World and 

 to latitude 30° in the Old World. Eight species are recognized ; one inhabits northeastern North 

 America, and two western North America; one^ grows on the mountains of central Japan and another^ 

 on the eastern Himalayas ; on the mountains of central Europe there is one species,^ another ^ forms 

 great forests on the plains of northern Russia and eastern Siberia, and eastward is replaced by another 

 species ® which extends to Saghalin, northern Japan, and the Kurile Islands. The type is an ancient 

 one, and its fossil remains have been found in miocene rocks of central Europe.^ 



Larix produces hard, durable, valuable timber, which is often of great commercial importance, 

 turpentine, which is sometimes used in medicine,^ tar,® bark rich in tannin,^^ and a peculiar manna-Hke 

 substance.^^ 



Larix is preyed on by numerous destructive insects ^^ and by serious fungal diseases.^^ 



Some species are considered valuable ornamental trees, and are often planted in northern countries 

 for the decoration of parks. 



Larix, the classical name of the Larch-tree, was adopted by Tournefort,^* but was included by 

 Linnseus in his genus Pinus. 



^ Henry, Nov. Act. Acad. Cces. Leap, xix, 98, t. 13 ; xxii. 246, 

 t. 22. 



2 Larix Kmmpferi (not Gordon). 



Pinus Larix, Thunberg, Fl. Jap. 275 (not Linnaeus) (1784). 



Pinus Kcempferi, Lambert, Pinus^ ii. PrefaeOj p. v. (1824). 



Abies K(Bmpferi, Lindley, Penny Cycl. i. 34 (1833). 



AUes leptolepis, Siebold & Zuccarini, Fl. Jap. ii. 12, t. 105 

 (1842). 



Pinus leptolepis, Endlicher, Syn. Conif. 130 (1847). — Parla^ 

 tore, De Candolle Prodr. svi. pt. ii. 410. 



Larix Japonica, Carri^re, Traite Conif. 272 (1855). 



Larix leptolepis, Gordon, Pinetum, 128 (1858). — A. Murray, 



Proc. R. Hort. Sac. ii. 633, f. 154, 156-160 ; The Pines and Firs 



of Japan, 89, f. 172-177. — Miquel, Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. iii. 



166 {Prol. Fl. Jap.). — Kegel, Gartenflora, xx. 102, t. 685, f. 5 ; 



Act. Hort. Petrop. i. 158 ; Beige Hort. xxii. 100, t. 8, f. 2. — Fran- 



chet & Savatier, Enum. PI. Jap. i. 466. — Masters, Jmr. Linn. 



Soc. xviii, 522 (Conifers of Japan). — Trautvetter, Act. Hort. 



Petrop. ix. 212 (Incrementa Fl. Ross.). — Mayr, Monog. Ahiet. 



Jap. 63, t. 5, f. 14. — Beiasner, Handh. Nadelk. 318, f . 83. 



The Japanese Larch, which is a tree seventy or eighty feet in 

 height, with a massive trunk from three to four feet in diameter, 

 and pale blue-green foliage, is common on the mountains of central 

 Hondo at elevations of from five to six thousand feet above the 

 sea-level, where it is scattered usually in small groves through 

 forests principally composed of Birches, Oaks, and Hemlocks. The 

 hard durable wood, difficult to obtain from the inaccessible moun- 

 tain forests, is used locally for the timber of mines and in the 

 manufacture of many small articles. (See Rein, Industries of 

 Japan, 238. — Sargent, Forest Fl. Jap. 83.) 



Larix Kcmipferi was introduced about forty years ago into the 

 gardens of Europe and the northeastern United States, where it is 

 hardy and vigorous and is chiefly distinguished by the brilliant 

 yellow color assumed by its leaves in autumn. 



At the upper limits of tree growth, at elevations of between 

 eight and nine thousand feet above the sea, a low form of this 

 Larch, dwarfed by cold, with shorter leaves and smaller cones, 

 grows on Mt. Fugi-san. This is 



Larix Kcempferi^ var. minor. 



AUes leptolepis, Lindley, Card. Chron. 1861, 23 (not Siebold & 

 Zuccarini). 



Larix leptolepis, var. minor, A, Murray, Proc. R. Hort. Soc. ii. 

 633, f. 155 (1862). 



Larix Japonica, A. Murray, The Pines and Firs of Japan, 94, 

 f. 178-188 (not Carrifere) (1863). — Kegel, Gartenflora, xx. 104, 

 t. 685, f. 7; Act. Hort. Petrop. i. 159; Beige Hort. xxii. 103, t. 9, 

 f . 4. 



Larix leptoleph, /3 Murrayana, Maximowicz, Ind. Sem. Hort. 

 Petrop. 1866, 3 (nomen nudum). ■ — Franchet & Savatier, I. c. — 

 Beissner, I. c. 319, f . 84. — Masters, Jour. R. Hort. Soc. xiv. 217. 



Larix Japonica macrocarpa, Carrifere, Traite Conif. ed. 2, 354 

 (1867). 



3 Larix Griffitliii, Hooker f. III. Him. PL t. 21 (excl. staminate 

 flowers) (1855); Fl. Brit. Ind. v. 655. — Van Houtte, FL desSerres, 

 xii. 165, 1. 1267. —Gordon, Pinetum, Suppl. 39; ed. 2, 171. — Kegel, 

 Gartenflora, xx. 106, t. 685, f. 1-4; AcL Hort. Petrop. i. 161; Beige 

 Hort. xxii. 105, t. 10, f . 4-7. — Brandis, Forest FL Brit Ind. 531. — 

 Beissner, L c. 316, f. 82. 



Larix GriffitUana, Carrifere, Traite Conif. 278 (1855). — Gor- 

 don, Pinetum^ 126. 



