EUROPEAN LARCH 223 



EUROPEAN LARCH : Z/arix europcea 



THIS deciduous and foreign conifer is quite similar 

 in general appearance to our native Eastern Tamarack 

 (Larix laricina), but is unlike it in choice of soils. Its 

 natural home is in central and northern Europe. It is 

 abundant in the mountain regions of France, Germany, 

 and Switzerland, but is probably most extensively planted 

 in the western portion of the Austrian Empire. It thrives 

 best there on the lower mountain slopes, and delights in 

 a moderately fertile and well-drained soil, but will grow 

 fairly well on a poor one if not too decidedly sterile. It is 

 a deep-rooted tree and cannot stand much moisture in the 

 subsoil. It will start vigorously in such soils, but soon fails. 

 In all this it is the direct opposite of our Eastern Larch, 

 but somewhat resembles the Western one. 



At home in the forest it develops into a tall, straight, 

 and somewhat tapering stem, clean of limbs for one half or 

 more of its height. It is not unusual for it to reach a dia- 

 meter of three feet and a height of ninety to one hundred 

 feet. In the open it takes on a distinctly pyramidal form, 

 with its lower limbs resting on the ground, and running to 

 a sharp apex at the top. In this it closely resembles the 

 Spruces and Firs. It is light-demanding in the extreme and 

 appears to prefer other species for its near neighbors, and 

 it is claimed that it is never found in pure stands in natur- 

 ally planted forests. It is a rapid grower and in this excels 

 nearly, if not quite, all other high-grade conifers, especially 

 on dry soils. Probably no other tree except the Chestnut 

 and Catalpawill produce fence posts and telegraph and other 

 poles to carry electric wires of so great durability and so 

 soon as will the European Larch in favorable locations. 

 Dr. Hugh P. Baker l states : " There are several groves 

 in Iowa planted from twenty to thirty years ago from 

 which telephone poles are being sold at from $1.00 to $1.15 



1 Iowa State College Bulletin, No. 90. 



