LARIX. 39 



Gen. LARIX, Link, the Larches. 

 The word Larch, according to some authors, is derived from 

 the Celtic word " Lar" (fat), on account of the tree producing 

 an abundance of resinous matter, which flows externally down 

 its stem, and which Ovid describes in the following lines — 



" The new-made trees in tears of amber run, 

 Which harden iuto value by the sun." 



But, according to other writers, the name is derived from the 

 Welsh " Liar'' (wide spreading), on account of its horizontally 

 extended branches. Its Spanish name, " Alerce," and its 

 Italian one, " L'Arice,'^ are derived from the Arabic " Al-araz," 

 a kind of cedar, or coniferous tree. 



Page 126. 



Larix Griffithit, Hooker, Dr. Griffith's Sikkim Larch. 



This species occurs very common in Bhotan, Sikkim, and in 

 the valleys of Eastern Nepal, close up to the snow-line, at 

 from 9,000 to 12,000 feet of elevation, but is never found in 

 the sub- Himalayas. The leaves, which redden and fall in No- 

 vember, are in more scattered fascicles than those of the com- 

 mon Larch, and brighter green when young ; cones large, 

 reddish-purple ; when young, erect, and abounding in tears of 

 white resin. 



It forms an inelegant thinly-branched tree, growing only 30 

 or 40 feet high, and called " Sah'"" by the Bhotiyas. 



Larix Kamtschatica, Carriere, the Kamtschatka Larch. 

 Syn. Pinus Kamtschatica, Endlicher. 

 „ Abies Kamtschatica, Ruppi'echt. 

 „ „ Sibirica, Fischer, not Ledehour. 



,, „ Fischerii, Ledehour. 



This kind resembles Larix Dahurica, but has much larger 

 cones, with the scales very differently shaped. It has been 

 much confounded by Russian writers with Larix Dahurica, 

 but may at once be distinguished from that kind by its much 

 larger cones. 



