Larix decidua

{{Short description|Species of tree in the pine family}} {{Speciesbox | name = European larch | image = L'A de Bran, (1798 m) Val d'Anniviers. Europese larix (Larix decidua) 01.JPG | image_caption = European larch in l'A Bran, (1798 m) Val d'Annivier. | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Farjon, A. |date=2017 |title=''Larix decidua'' |volume=2017 |article-number=e.T42309A83969267 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T42309A83969267.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = G5 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref name=NS>{{cite NatureServe |id=2.130387 |title=''Larix decidua'' |access-date=1 November 2025}}</ref> | genus = Larix | species = decidua | authority = Mill. | range_map = Larix decidua range.svg | range_map_caption = {{Colorbox|#70A800}} Continuous range (var. ''decidua'') {{Colorbox|#FF7F7F}} Continuous range <big>'''✖'''</big> Isolated population (var. ''carpatica'') <big>'''✖'''</big> Isolated population (subsp. ''polonica'') |synonyms_ref=<ref name="262420-1" /> |synonyms={{Collapsible list| *''Abies larix'' (L.) J.St.-Hil. *''Larix caducifolia'' Gilib. *''Larix europaea'' DC. *''Larix excelsa'' Link *''Larix gracilis'' A.Dietr. *''Larix larix'' (L.) H.Karst. *''Larix pyramidalis'' Salisb. *''Larix sudetica'' Domin *''Larix vulgaris'' Fisch. ex Spach *''Peuce larix'' (L.) Rich. *''Picea larix'' (L.) Peterm. *''Pinus laeta'' Salisb. *''Pinus larix'' L. }}}}

'''''Larix decidua''''', the '''European larch''', is a species of larch native to the mountains of central Europe, in the Alps and Carpathian Mountains, with small disjunct lowland populations in northern Poland. Its life span has been confirmed to be close to 1000 years,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.conifers.org/pi/Larix_decidua.php|title=Larix decidua - The Gymnosperm Database|website=www.conifers.org|access-date=2017-12-07}}</ref> with ages of around 2000 years likely.<ref name=MTIt>{{cite web | title=European Larch 'Santa Gertrude 1' in a forest, Val d'Ultimo, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy | website=Monumental trees | date=2001-07-15 | url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/ita/trentinoaltoadige/ultimo/12812_forest/25954/ | access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref>

==Description== ''Larix decidua'' is a medium-size to large deciduous coniferous tree reaching {{Convert|25-45|m|ft|0}} tall, with a trunk up to {{Convert|1.5|m|ft|0}} diameter (exceptionally, to {{Convert|53.8|m|ftin|0}}<ref name=MTDe>{{cite web | title=European Larch close to Richthof, Schlitz, Hesse, Germany | website=Monumental trees | date=2013-01-10 | url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/deu/hesse/vogelsbergkreis/4524_richthof/10650/ | access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref> and 11.20 m girth (3.56 m diameter<ref name=MTCH>{{cite web | title=European Larch close to the cheese farm in Prairion, Vallese, Switzerland | website=Monumental trees | date=2012-07-22 | url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/che/vallese/iserables/4323_cheesefarm/ | access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref>). The crown is conic when young, becoming broad and often irregular with age; the main branches are level to upswept, with the side branches often pendulous. The shoots are dimorphic, with growth divided into long shoots (typically {{Convert|10-50|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long) and bearing several buds, and short shoots only 1–2 mm long with only a single bud. The leaves are needle-like, light green, {{Convert|2-4|cm|in|frac=8}} long which turn bright yellow before they fall in the autumn, leaving the pale yellow-buff shoots bare until the next spring.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

The cones are erect, ovoid-conic, {{Convert|2-6|cm|in|frac=8}} long, with 10-90 erect or slightly incurved (not reflexed) seed scales; they are bright pinkish-red at pollination, then green variably flushed red to purplish when immature, and turn brown and opening to release the seeds when mature, 4–6 months after pollination. The old cones commonly remain on the tree for many years, turning dull grey-black.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

It is very cold tolerant, able to survive winter temperatures down to at least {{Convert|-50|C|}}, and is among the tree line trees in the Alps, reaching {{Convert|2400|m||abbr=on}} altitude, though most abundant from {{Convert|1000-2000|m||abbr=on}}. It only grows on well-drained soils, avoiding waterlogged ground and is not shade tolerant.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

It is closely related to Siberian larch ''Larix sibirica'' and similar in morphology; the two are best distinguished by the dense pubescence on the cone scales of ''L. sibirica'', compared to the glabrous or only thinly pubescent cone scales of ''L. decidua''.<ref name=Rushforth>{{cite book | last=Rushforth | first=Keith | title=Trees of Britain and Europe | publisher=Collins | publication-place=London | date=1999 | isbn=0-00-220013-9 | pages=777–785 }}</ref>

==Subtaxa== The following varieties are accepted by ''Plants of the World Online'':<ref name="262420-1" >{{cite web |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:262420-1 |title=''Larix decidua'' Mill. |author= |date=2017 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=11 April 2021 }}</ref> *''Larix decidua'' var. ''decidua'' – '''European larch''' or Alpine larch. Most of the range, except as below. Cones 2.5–6 cm; shoots yellow-buff. *''Larix decidua'' var. ''carpatica'' Domin – '''Carpathian larch'''. In the Carpathian Mountains. Differs little from nominate var. ''decidua''. *''Larix decidua'' var. ''polonica'' (Racib. ex Wóycicki) Ostenf. & Syrach – '''Polish larch'''. Disjunct in lowland northern and central Poland. Cones 2–3 cm; shoots very pale yellow-buff, almost white. The Polish larch, being disjunct and growing in a different lowland habitat with a more continental rather than montane sub-oceanic climate, is widely treated at the higher rank of subspecies rather than variety, ''Larix decidua'' subsp. ''polonica'' (Racib. ex Wóycicki) Domin.<ref name=Vidaković>{{cite book |last1=Vidaković |first1=Mirko |author1-link=Mirko Vidaković |title=Conifers |date=1991 |publisher=Grafički Zavod Hrvatske |location=Croatia |pages=255–281 |edition=English}}</ref><ref name=EuroMed>{{cite web | title=Larix decidua | website=Euro+Med Plantbase | url=https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/532ff1b0-6cfa-41f5-81d9-ecf7433a67ba | access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref><ref name=Litkowiec>{{cite journal | last1=Litkowiec | first1=Monika | last2=Lewandowski | first2=Andrzej | last3=Burczyk | first3=Jarosław | title=Genetic status of Polish larch (Larix decidua subsp. polonica (Racib. Domin)) from Chełmowa Mountain: implications for gene conservation | journal=Dendrobiology | volume=80 | pages=101–111 | date=2018-12-20 | issn=1641-1307 | doi=10.12657/denbio.080.010 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=Rushforth/> The Russian botanist Evgenij Bobrov considered it to be an ancient natural hybrid between European larch and Siberian larch ''L. sibirica'',<ref name=Bobrov>{{cite journal |last1=Bobrov |first1=E. G. |title=Synopsis Specierum Generis ''Larix'' Mill. |journal=Novitates Systematicae Plantarum Vascularum |date=1972 |volume=9 |pages=4–15}}</ref> but this has been shown to be incorrect, with it derived from only ''L. decidua''.<ref name=Lewandowski>{{cite journal | last=Lewandowski | first=A. | title=Genetic relationships between European and Siberian larch, Larix spp. (Pinaceae), studied by allozymes. Is the Polish larch a hybrid between these two species? | journal=Plant Systematics and Evolution | publisher=Springer | volume=204 | issue=1/2 | year=1997 | issn=0378-2697 | jstor=23642926 | pages=65–73 | doi=10.1007/BF00982532 | bibcode=1997PSyEv.204...65L }}</ref>

== Ecology == left|thumb|A siskin eating a European larch seed The seeds are an important food for some birds, notably siskin, redpoll, and citril finch, while the buds and immature cones are eaten by capercaillie.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

Larch needles (including ''L. decidua'' and ''L. sibirica'') are the only known food for caterpillars of the case-bearer moth ''Coleophora sibiricella''; its cone scales are used as food by the caterpillars of the tortrix moth ''Cydia illutana''.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

It is susceptible to larch canker ''Lachnellula willkommii''.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

==Cultivation== thumb|European larch morphology features from book: ''Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, 1885, Gera, Germany''. ''Larix decidua'' is widely cultivated as an ornamental tree for planting in gardens and parks. It was first cultivated in Britain in or shortly before 1629.<ref name=Mitchell>{{cite web |last=Mitchell|first=Alan| title=Conifers in the British Isles: a descriptive handbook |date=1972 | url=https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/1972/03/fcbk033.pdf |pages=130–134 |access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref> John Evelyn encouraged its wider planting and use.<ref>The Gardener's Dictionary, Vol.1, Philip Miller, 1835</ref> Three successive Dukes of Atholl planted it widely<ref>A History of British Forest-trees: Indigenous and Introduced, Prideaux John Selby, 1842</ref> and the fourth Duke wrote "Observations on Larch" in 1807 further encouraged its cultivation, which he practiced on a large scale.<ref>The Philosophical Magazine and Journal, Vol. 53, 1819</ref> One of the larches planted by the second Duke of Atholl at Dunkeld in 1737 is still standing,<ref name=MTDunkeld>{{cite web | title=European Larch Dunkeld Cathedral, Dunkeld, Scotland, United Kingdom | website=Monumental trees | date=2024-06-02 | url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/gbr/scotland/perthandkinross/7377_dunkeldcathedral/64836/ | access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref> as are two slightly older specimens planted in 1725 at Kailzie, near Peebles in southern Scotland.<ref>{{cite web | title=European Larch in the garden of Kailzie, Peebles, Scotland, United Kingdom (1) | website=Monumental trees | date=2023-09-14 | url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/gbr/scotland/roxburgh/33694_kailzie/62173/ | access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=European Larch in the garden of Kailzie, Peebles, Scotland, United Kingdom (2) | website=Monumental trees | date=2023-09-14 | url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/gbr/scotland/roxburgh/33694_kailzie/62172/ | access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref>

European larch is now widely naturalised in northern Europe, including Britain,<ref name=BSBI>{{cite web | title=European Larch ''Larix decidua'' | website=PlantAtlas | url=https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.1as | access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref> Scandinavia, and in Germany north of its native range. It is also widely cultivated in southern Canada and the northeastern United States, and is naturalised in Maine, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island. In the northern Appalachian Mountains it is often used for the reforestation of surface mines.<ref>{{cite web|title=Larix decidua|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/lardec/all.html|publisher=US Forest Service|access-date=13 July 2016}}</ref> European larch can grow on drier soils and tolerate warmer climates than tamarack (''Larix laricina'') or Siberian larch (''Larix sibirica''), being better suited to non-boreal climates.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Perry|first1=Leonard|title=Larches Large and Small|url=http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/larches.html|access-date=13 July 2016|publisher=University of Vermont Extension|archive-date=4 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004051511/http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/larches.html}}</ref>

===Hybrids=== European larch readily hybridises with Japanese larch ''L. kaempferi'' when the two are planted together; the hybrid, named Dunkeld larch or hybrid larch (''Larix × marschlinsii'' Coaz, syn. ''L. × eurolepis''), is extensively used in forestry, and is also naturalised in Britain, Ireland, and elsewhere.<ref name=Mitchell/><ref name=BSBI2>{{cite web | title=Hybrid Larch ''Larix × marschlinsii'' | website=PlantAtlas | url=https://plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9h.9dn | access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref> It is faster-growing than either parent, and more resistant to larch canker ''Lachnellula willkommii''.<ref name=Mitchell/><ref name=Coillte>{{cite web | title=The advantages of hybrid over European and Japanese larch | url=https://larchresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/The-advantages-of-hybrid-over-European-and-Japanese-larch-Coillete-1998.pdf | access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref> Hybrids with several other larches have been made, but are rare;<ref name=Vidaković/><ref name=Mitchell/> the hybrid with ''Larix laricina'' has also been named, as ''Larix × pendula'' (Solander) Salisbury.<ref name=Mitchell/>

===Bonsai=== The European larch is a popular bonsai species, with many unique specimens available in European circles, and is popularly used in bonsai forest groups.<ref name="Ma-Ke_Larix decidua ">{{cite web | first=Mark | last=D'Cruz | title=Ma-Ke Bonsai Care Guide for Larix decidua | publisher=Ma-Ke Bonsai | url=http://makebonsai.com/guide/bonsailink.asp?quicklink=5002&name=Larix_decidua | access-date=2011-07-08 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514133328/http://www.makebonsai.com/guide/bonsailink.asp?quicklink=5002&name=Larix_decidua | archive-date=2012-05-14 }}</ref>

===Invasive species=== In New Zealand, ''Larix decidua'' is classed as a wilding conifer, an invasive species which spreads into the high country, where it had been planted by the New Zealand Forest Service for erosion control.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

===Uses=== The wood is tough and durable, but also flexible in thin strips, and is particularly valued for yacht building; wood used for this, known as 'boatskin larch',<ref name=Mitchell/><ref>{{cite web | last=King | first=Joshua | title=Deeside timber firm teams up with north-east boat festival for unique restoration project | website=Press and Journal | date=2017-07-24 | url=https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen-aberdeenshire/1294342/deeside-timber-firm-teams-up-with-north-east-boat-festival-for-unique-restoration-project/ | access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref> must be free of knots, and can only be obtained from old trees that were pruned when young to remove side branches. Small larch poles are widely used for rustic fencing.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

Because of its fast juvenile growth and its pioneer character, larch has found numerous applications in forestry and agroforestry. It is used as a 'preparatory species' to afforest open land, abandoned farmland or disturbed land, and as a 'nurse species' prior to the introduction of more demanding species.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Matras|first1=Jan|last2=Pâques|first2=Luc E.|title=European Larch, ''Larix decidua''|date=2008|url=http://www.euforgen.org/fileadmin//templates/euforgen.org/upload/Publications/Technical_guidelines/1324_European_larch__Larix_decidua_.pdf|publisher=European Forest Genetic Resources Programme|series = Technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use | access-date=2016-10-05|archive-date=2016-10-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018101528/http://www.euforgen.org/fileadmin//templates/euforgen.org/upload/Publications/Technical_guidelines/1324_European_larch__Larix_decidua_.pdf}}</ref>

==Gallery == <gallery widths="200" heights="200" perrow="5" mode="packed"> File:Larix decidua Aletschwald.jpg|''Larix decidua'' subsp. ''decidua'' at Aletschwald, Switzerland File:Larix decidua ssp polonica, Gajówka, Kraków, Poland.jpg|''Larix decidua'' subsp. ''polonica'' at Gajówka, Kraków, Poland File:Larch in Guarda (crop).jpg|In winter, without leaves, Guarda, Graubünden, Switzerland File:Albeck Seebachern bizarre Laerche 25102013 872.jpg|Larch in Albeck, district Feldkirchen, Carinthia, Austria File:ArmentaraFels.jpg|South Tyrol, Wengen-La Val-La Valle File:Larix decidua Embrun1.jpg|Parc régional du Queyras, Embrun, Hautes-Alpes, France File:Albeck Seebachern Laerchenwald 25102013 869.jpg|Autumnal forest with larches, spruces and arolla pines at Seebachern File:Bergtocht van Peio Paese naar Lago Covel in het Nationaal park Stelvio (Italië). Wond van een afgebroken tak. Europese larix (Larix decidua) 02.jpg|Bark, with a wound from a broken branch. File:Larix decidua0.jpg|European larch foliage and cones File:Larix decidua developing cone.JPG|Developing seed cone in detail File:Larix-decidua 0088 S.jpg|Young seed cones (red) and pollen cones (yellow) File:LarixDeciduaFemaleFlower.jpg|Young female cone File:Larix decidua male cones 2.jpg|Male cones File:Larch planted on a scree slope.JPG|European larch planted for erosion control on a scree slope in Canterbury, New Zealand </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist|refs=}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Larix decidua}} *[http://www.euforgen.org/species/larix-decidua/ ''Larix decidua'']. Information, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN)

decidua Category:Trees of Europe Category:Flora of France Category:Flora of the Alps Category:Flora of Austria Category:Flora of the Czech Republic Category:Flora of Germany Category:Flora of Italy Category:Flora of Poland Category:Flora of Romania Category:Flora of Switzerland Category:Flora of Ukraine Category:Least concern plants Category:Trees of humid continental climate Category:Garden plants of Europe Category:Ornamental trees Category:Deciduous conifers Category:Taxa named by Philip Miller Category:Flora of the Carpathians