Chapter XV 

 THE LARCH 



Family Pinaceae 



THE larch is the only native Northern 

 genus of the pine family which loses 

 its leaves in winter; all the other 

 native genera are evergreens. There is one 

 indigenous species, and one from Europe which 

 is cultivated even more commonly than the 

 American tree. 



American ^ ^rge tree, 50 to IOO feet high 

 Larch ; Tama- The bark is rough with small, flat 



raCk matak aCk ~ scales ' The stems ^e pliable, and 

 Larix larcma are covered with knobby biids. The 

 cones are small, not more than half an inch long. 

 In Massachusetts the larch does not attain 

 a great height, but in cold Northern swamps it 

 grows to be a large tree. It is not dependent 

 on a wet situation, but grows well after being 

 transplanted into upland soil. Its growth is 

 rapid, and it is often chosen for "quick ef- 

 fects " in landscape gardening, a choice which 

 is to be regretted for the most part, as few 

 trees have so little beauty as the larch. 

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