{{Short description|Plant species in the pine family}} {{Speciesbox | image = Lone Larix lyallii in fall color in the Enchantments (11 October 2024).jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref= <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Farjon, A. |date=2013 |title=''Larix lyallii'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T42314A2971798 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42314A2971798.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = {{TNCStatus}} | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref name="NatureServe">{{cite web |last1=NatureServe |title=''Larix lyallii'' |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.158144/Larix_lyallii |access-date=11 September 2024 |location=Arlington, Virginia |date=2024}}</ref> | genus = Larix | species = lyallii | authority = Parl. | range_map = Larix lyallii range map-Natural Earth.png | range_map_caption = Natural range of ''Larix lyallii'' }}
'''''Larix lyallii''''', the '''subalpine larch''', or simply '''alpine larch''', is a deciduous, coniferous tree native to northwestern North America. It lives at high altitudes, from {{convert|1500|to|2900|m|ft|sp=us}},<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last1=Arno|first1=Stephen F.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDD4DwAAQBAJ|title=Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region's Native Trees|last2=Hammerly|first2=Ramona P.|publisher=Mountaineers Books|year=2020|isbn=978-1-68051-329-5|edition=field guide|location=Seattle|pages=76–83|language=en|oclc=1141235469|orig-date=1977}}</ref> in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta. There is a disjunct population in the Cascade Range of Washington.
Subalpine larch is hardy and can survive at low temperatures and on thin rocky soils, often being found near the tree line.<ref name=":02" /> It can grow in a variety of soils as long as the soil is moist but well drained. However, it is relatively shade intolerant.<ref name=":02" />
David Lyall seems to have discovered the species between 1858 and 1861. John Bernhard Leiberg described it in 1900.<ref name=":02" />
==Description== left|thumb|Fall foliage and cone ''Larix lyallii'' is a small tree, growing from {{convert|10|to|25|m|ft|sp=us}} tall and shorter at higher elevations. It has a straight trunk with a sparse and somewhat conical crown. The branches are horizontal, perpendicular to the trunk, irregularly spaced and twisted. The twigs are finely hairy. The needles are four-angled, {{convert|20|to|35|mm|in|frac=4|sp=us}} long and crowded in groups of 30 to 40 on short spurs. They are pale blue-green and deciduous,<ref name=":02" /> turning golden yellow in autumn.
The seed cones, {{convert|2.5|to|4|cm|in|sp=us|frac=4}} long, are red-purple when young but become dark brown with age. They have thin scales and narrow bracts that extend over the scales. The pollen and seed cones become active in early summer.<ref name=":02" /> The bark is about 2.5 cm thin<ref name=":02" /> and turns from yellow-gray to dark red-brown with age. It also becomes deeply furrowed into small, scaly plates.
The tree is also one of the longest-lived tree species. There is record of a specimen in Kananaskis, Alberta, which has been understood to be about 2,000 years old, the oldest tree in Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm |title=OLDLIST|publisher=Rocky Mountain Tree Ring Research|access-date=20 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Subalpine Larch: Oldest Trees in Canada?|first=John|last=Worrall|journal=The Forestry Chronicle|year=1990|volume=66|issue=5|pages=478–479|doi=10.5558/tfc66478-5|url=http://pubs.cif-ifc.org/doi/pdf/10.5558/tfc66478-5|doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Uses== The bark contains tannin and the wood is strong, heavy, and durable.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons and category}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20081015134718/http://conifers.org/pi/la/lyallii.htm Gymnosperm Database: ''Larix lyallii''] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060223015908/http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/Syllabus2/factsheet.cfm?ID=680 Virginia Tech Dendrology: ''Larix lyallii''] * [https://treelib.ca/search?s=272 Treelib.ca: ''Larix lyalii'']
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lyallii Category:Flora of Alberta Category:Flora of British Columbia Category:Flora of Idaho Category:Flora of Montana Category:Flora of Washington (state) Category:Deciduous conifers Category:Trees of Northern America