Woolly Larch 



53 



3. WOOLLY LARCH Larix Lyallii Parlatore 



This tree, also called Lyall'? larch, Mountain larch, Larch, and Tamarack, is 

 an alpine species, growing only near the timber-Hne of mountains between the 

 altitudes of 1350 and 2400 meters, being known from Montana, Oregon and Wash- 

 ington to Alberta and southern British Columbia; its maximum height is 25 meters, 

 with a trunk diameter of 1.2 meters. 



Fig. 41. Woolly Larch. 



The branches are usually very irregularly divided, in rather remote whorls, 

 elongated, pendulous or the upper ascending, forming a very irregular head. 

 The bark on old trees is 1.5 to 2 cm. thick, shallowly fissured into irregular plates 

 composed of loose dark red scales; on younger trees it is thin, smooth, somewhat 

 shining, and yellowish gray. The stout twigs are thickly coated with browTi hairs, 

 becoming smooth and nearly black after several years and armed with stout blunt 

 branchlets 1.5 to 2 cm. long. The winter buds are characterized by the white 

 matted hairy margins of their scales. The four-sided leaves are slender, needle- 

 like, rather sharp-pointed, 2.5 to 4 cm. long, and light green. The staminate 

 flowers are oblong, short-stalked, and pale yellow. The pistillate flowers are 

 ovoid-oblong to ovoid, yellowish green tinged with purple. The cones are short- j 

 stalked, oblong, 3.5 to 4.5 cm. long, 2 cm. thick, somewhat pointed at the apex,' 

 and fall off during the first winter; their numerous scales are thin, oblong to 

 obovate, reddish or sometimes green, their margins toothed, and more or less 

 fringed with hairs; when mature the scales spread widely from the stout hairy 

 axis; the bracts are large and much exserted beyond the scales, long, slender- 

 tipped and purpHsh. The seed, which is shed during the first autumn, is ob- 

 liquely oblong, 3 mm. long, half the length of its shining Hght reddish wing. 



The wood is hard, coarse-grained, and red-brown; its specific gravity is about 

 0.70. It is not as yet an article of commerce. 



