CONIFERS 305 



LARIX Miller. Larch. 



Leaves fascicled, deciduous. Seeds winged. 

 Larix euvopcea DC. (L. decidua Miller). 



A tree sometimes attaining a height of 160 feet. Leaves, or 

 needles, in fascicles of 20-30, slightly channelled, deciduous, 

 bright green, turning yellow-ochre in autumn. Cone ovoid, erect, 

 reddish purple when young, grey-brown when mature, 3-4 cm. long, 

 with persistent scales. 



This most useful timber tree reaches 2400 m. (7870 feet) in 

 Switzerland and the Western Alps the extreme limit of trees, 

 and is almost totally absent from the Jura and sub- Alps. Very 

 fine specimens can be seen just above Saas Fee in Switzerland. 



Distribution. Eastern, Central, and Western Alps. Central 

 Europe, Siberia. Elsewhere planted. 



On the Yen-e-say River Henry Seebohm tells us the Larch and 

 Birch extend further than any other trees, viz. to lat. 69!, and 

 the Spruce comes next. 1 



In 1910 a book on Tree Limits in the Eastern Alps was published 

 by Dr. Richard Marek 2 in which a table was given which shows 

 some of Kerner's results compared with Marek's, which were 

 largely based on already published maps and literature. The 

 table is as follows : 



yy f . Upper limit of trees, Limit of forest, Difference 



Kerner (metres). Marek (metres). (metres). 



Central Alps (Ortler). 2307 . . 2192 . . 115 



(Oetzthal). 2212 . . 2087 . . 125 



Eastern Tyrol, Salzburg 1991 . . 1910 . . 81 



Northern Tyrolese Limestone Alps 1904 . . 1897 . . 7 



South Tyrolese Alps 2086 . . 1936 ... 150 



North-Eastern Limestone Alps 1674 . . 1622 . . 52 



South-Eastern ,, ,, 1833 . . 1793 . . 40 



Average difference 82 metres. 



TAXUS L. Yew. 



Trees or shrubs with short, linear, evergreen leaves. Flowers 

 mostly dioecious. Catkin very small, with imbricated scales at the 

 base ; the males ending in a cluster of stamens ; the females con- 

 sisting in a single erect ovule with a small cup-shaped disk round its 

 base. Fruit a hard seed, partly embedded in a pulpy, berry-like 

 cup. 



A small genus, extending round the northern hemisphere. 



Taxus baccata L. Common Yew. 



A dark, evergreen, much-branched tree, with thick trunk and 

 hard wood, attaining a great age. Leaves not an inch long, inserted 



1 Henry Seebohm, Siberia in Asia. 



2 Marek, Waldgrenzstudien in den Oesterreichischen Alpen, 



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