1822 



LARCH 



LARIX 



LARCH: Larix. 



LARDIZABALA (after the Spanish naturalist Lardiz- 

 abalyUribe). Lardizabalacese. Two shrubby evergreen 

 climbers in Chile with once- to thrice-ternate Ivs.: fls. 

 dioecious, purple-brown; sepals 6, and 6 petaloid 

 nectaries, sometimes called petals; the staminate fls. in 

 pendulous racemes, with 6 connate stamens; the pis- 

 tillate ones solitary, with 6 distinct sterile stamens and 

 3 cylindric ovaries, developing into oblong, many- 

 seeded berries. The pulpy edible fr. is sold in the 

 Chilean markets and cordage is made of the fibrous sts. 

 Only the following species, which is similar to the well- 

 known Akebia quinata but has short-stalked pointed 

 Ifts. in 3's, is cult, in S. Calif, for its handsome foliage 

 and the odd-looking dark-colored fls. ; 

 it is readily prop, by cuttings of half- 

 ripened wood under glass. L. biternata, 

 Ruiz & Pav. Lvs. twice ternate or on 

 the flowering branchlets usually simply 

 ternate; Ifts. leathery, ovate, acute or 

 mucronate, entire or with 1 or 2 almost 

 spiny teeth, dark green and glossy 

 above, paler and reticulate beneath, 

 2-4 in. long: staminate fls. about 1 in. across, purple- 

 brown, in a dense, about 15-fld. drooping raceme; the 

 petaloid nectaries lanceolate, white, the pistillate fls. 

 slightly larger, solitary, slender-stalked: fr. oblong, 2-3 

 in. long. Winter or spring. B.M.4501. G.C.III.52:467. 

 Gn.28, p. 489. J.F. 1:5. B.H. 3:339. P.M. 1, p. 28. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



LARIX (ancient Latin name). Pinacex. LARCH. 

 TAMARACK. Ornamental deciduous coniferous trees 

 chiefly grown for their bright or light green foliage and 

 regular habit. 



Branches whorled, at least while young: Ivs. linear, 

 in crowded clusters on short spurs except on the leading 

 shoots where they are spirally arranged: fls. monoecious; 

 staminate fls. small, globose to oblong ; solitary, con- 

 sisting of numerous short-stalked, spirally arranged 

 anthers; pistillate fls. larger, consisting of several or 

 numerous scales, with 2 naked ovules at the base, each 

 scale borne in the axil of a much longer bract: cone 

 with woody, 2-seeded scales, persistent on the axis; 

 seeds with large, thin wings, ripening the first year. 

 About 10 or 12 species in the colder regions and the 

 high mountains of the northern hemisphere. 



The larches are handsome trees of regular pyramidal 

 habit, but in old age becoming sometimes irregular; 



they are 'particularly 

 handsome in spring with 

 their light green tender 

 foliage and studded with 

 their usually bright pur- 

 ple pistillate flowers. 

 They are all hardy North 

 except the Himalayan 

 L. Griffithii, and are of ten 

 planted as park trees, 

 chiefly for the light green 

 foliage and the regular 

 conical, or in some varie- 

 ties pendulous, habit. 

 The most beautiful is 

 probably L. leptolepis, 

 with the foliage turning 

 bright yellow in fall, 

 while the others assume 

 only a pale yellow color. 

 They are also very valu- 

 able forest trees, especi- 

 ally for the northern and 

 mountainous regions; no 

 forest tree goes farther 

 north than the larch, 

 2109. Larii occidentalis. (x%) reaching in North 



America 67 and in Siberia 72 of latitude. The wood 

 is hard, heavy and very durable, and much used for 

 construction, that of L. occidentalis being considered the 

 best of all American conifers. From the European 

 larch turpentine is obtained. The bark contains tan- 

 nin, and an extract is used for tanning leather. The 

 larch grows in almost any kind of soil, including clay 

 and limestone, and prefers a somewhat moist, but well- 

 drained soil and an open situation; the American larch 

 grows well even in swamps. Unfortunately several 

 insects and fungi prey on the larch, and sometimes do 

 considerable damage, especially the ' leaf -eating larvae 

 of some moths. Propagation is usually by seeds sown 

 in spring, and the young seedlings shaded; varieties are 



2110. Lanx decidua, 

 commonly known as L. 

 europaea. (XH) 



grafted on seedlings, mostly on those of L. decidua 

 (L. europsea), either outdoors by whip- or cleft-grafting 

 or in the greenhouse by veneer-grafting; they may also 

 be increased by cuttings of nearly ripened wood under 

 glass or by layers, but this method is rarely practised. 



A. Bracts longer than the scales: scales numerous, stiff, 



spreading or recurved after maturity. 

 occidentalis, Nutt. Fig. 2109 (adapted from Pacific 

 R. R. Report). Tall tree, to 150 ft., with dark-colored 

 bark, becoming bright cinnamon-red on older trunks, 

 and with short, horizontal branches, forming a narrow 

 pyramidal head: branchlets pubescent when young: 

 Ivs. rigid, sharply pointed, triangular, keeled beneath, 

 1-1% m . tong, pale green: cone oblong, 1-1 ^ in- long; 

 scales orbicular, almost entire, tomentose beneath. 

 Brit. Col. to Mont, and Ore. S.S. 12:594. G.F. 9:497. 

 Gt. 20:685, figs. 8-10. G.C. II. 25:652. B.H. 22:8, 

 figs. 3-5. B.M. 8253. R.H. 1909, pp. 252, 253. 



AA. Bracts much shorter than scales. 



B. Lvs. with 2 white lines beneath: scales numerous, 

 reflexed at the apex. 



Iept61epis, Murr. (L. Kaempferi, Sarg., not Carr. L. 

 japdnica, Carr.). Tree, to 80 ft., with horizontal 

 branches, forming a pyramidal head : branchlets yellow- 

 ish or reddish brown, glabrous and glossy; spurs short 

 and globular: Ivs. rather broad, obtuse, soft, K-1K in., 

 light or bluish green: cones ovate-oblong, l /^-\]^ in. 

 long, with emarginate, roundish ovate scales. Japan. 

 S. I. F. 1:2. G.C. II. 19:88; III. 40:290. G.W. 8, p. 

 496. Gt. 20:685, fig. 5. B.H. 22:8, fig. 2. The hand- 

 somest of the larches as a lawn tree. Var. minor, Murr. 

 (var. Murrayana, Maxim. L.japonica, Murr., not Carr.). 

 Dwarf er form with smaller cones. Gt. 20 : 685, fig. 2. B.H. 

 22 : 9, fig. 4. Var. prostrata, Beissn., a prostrate form. 



BB. Lvs. without white lines, very narrow: scales erect- 

 spreading, straight or slightly incurved at the apex. 



c. Scales usually puberulous or finely tomentose, slightly 



incurved at the apex, numerous. 

 decidua, Mill. (L. europsea, DC. L. Larix, Kars- 



ten). EUROPEAN LARCH. Fig. 2110. Tree, to 100 ft., 



