View source for Larch

{{Short description|Genus of deciduous conifers in the family Pinaceae}}
{{good article}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Larix decidua Aletschwald.jpg
| image_alt = Larch trees
| image_caption = ''[[Larix decidua]]'' in [[Aletschwald]], [[Switzerland]]
| taxon = Larix
| authority = [[Philip Miller|Mill.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = About 10–14; see text
| type_species = ''[[Larix decidua]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Philip Miller|Mill.]]
}}

'''Larches''' are [[deciduous]] [[conifer]]s in the genus '''''Larix''''', of the family [[Pinaceae]]. Growing to as much as {{cvt|60|m|ft|round=5}} tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They grow in lowland forests in the far north, and high in mountains further south. Larches are among the dominant plants in the [[Taiga|boreal forests]] of [[Siberia]] and Canada, making them the most abundant genus of trees on earth. Larch wood is tough and relatively durable. The wood is used in [[Boat building|boatbuilding]], [[Cladding (construction)|cladding]], [[Deck (building)|decking]], [[garden furniture]], [[fence|fencing]], and construction. Products extracted from larch include [[arabinogalactan]], [[rosin]], [[turpentine]], and an [[essential oil]].

== Etymology ==

The English name ''larch'' was recorded in 1548 by the botanist [[William Turner (naturalist)|William Turner]]. It derives from the German {{lang|de|Lärche}}, in turn from the [[Middle High German]] {{lang|mhg|larche}}, which is conjectured to derive from an unrecorded [[Old High German]] name for the tree, ''*larihha''. That  derives from the [[Latin]] name of the tree, ''Larix''.<ref name="Online Etym">{{cite web |title=larch (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/larch |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=12 September 2025}}</ref> The Latin name probably was loaned from a [[Gaulish]] language spoken in the [[Alps]].<ref name="Online Etym"/>

== Description ==

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=350 heights=350>
File:Larch botanical illustration labelled.svg|Larch botanical illustration labelled
</gallery>

=== Habit and foliage ===

The tallest species, ''[[Larix occidentalis]]'', can reach {{cvt|50|to|60|m|ft|round=5}}. Larch tree crowns are sparse, with the major branches horizontal and in whorls; the second and third order branchlets are roughly horizontal in some species, [[pendulous]] in others. Larch shoots are dimorphic, with needle-like leaves borne singly on long shoots with several [[bud]]s, and in dense clusters of 20–50 needles on short shoots with only a single bud.<ref name="Stace-2010">{{cite book |last=Stace |first=C. A. |author-link=Stace, C. A. |year=2010 |title=New Flora of the British Isles |edition=Third |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, U.K. |isbn=978-0-521-70772-5}}</ref>{{rp|47}} Larch wood is resinous. The bark of young trees is smooth; that of older trees is thick and scaly. Larches are among the few [[deciduous]] conifers, which are usually evergreen.<ref name="IDS">{{cite web |title=Larix Mill. |url=https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/larix |publisher=International Dendrology Society |access-date=12 September 2025}}</ref> 

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=150 heights=275><!--habit, leaves-->
File:Larix occidentalis Abies lasiocarpa.jpg|''[[Larix occidentalis]]'' can reach {{cvt|60|m|ft|round=5}} in height. [[Oregon]]
File:Larix decidua leaf dimorphism singly or in dense clusters on same tree.jpg|Larch shoots (here ''[[Larix decidua]]'') are dimorphic, with long shoots with widely spaced needles, and short shoots with dense clusters of leaves.
File:10 31 2008 Stand of Tamarack.jpg|Larches, like this<br/>''[[Larix laricina]]'' in [[Vermont]], are [[deciduous]], dropping their leaves in autumn. 
</gallery>

=== Cones ===

The male ([[pollen]]) cones are small, on the ends of shoots that die after pollination.<ref name="IDS"/>  The female (seed) [[conifer cone|cones]] are small, typically erect, and take 4–7 months to reach maturity after pollination.<ref name="IDS"/> The seed scales spread apart when mature, allowing the winged seeds, two per scale, to fall out.<ref name="IDS"/> The leaflike [[bract]] scales can be either long and visible (exserted) or short and hidden between the seed scales.<ref name="IDS"/> 

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180><!--cones-->
File:Flowers of Japanese larch emerging.jpg|Male (above) and female (below right) cones of ''[[Larix kaempferi]]'' emerging in spring, Japan
File:Larix decidua needles and male cones.JPG|''[[Larix decidua]]'' male cones, Scotland
File:Larix decidua female cones.jpg|''[[Larix decidua]]'' female cones
File:SubalpineLarch 7769.jpg|''[[Larix lyallii]]'' autumn foliage and cone, [[Washington (state)|Washington state]]
File:Larix griffithii, Yathang, Sikkim, India 1.jpg|''[[Larix griffithii]]'' foliage and cone, [[Sikkim]]
</gallery>

The [[Chromosome|chromosome number]] is 2n = 24, similar to that of most of the other species of the family [[Pinaceae]].

== Distribution ==

The genus ''Larix'' is present in all the temperate-cold zones of the [[Northern Hemisphere]], from North America to northern [[Siberia]] passing through Europe, mountainous China and Japan. The larches are important forest trees of Russia, [[Central Europe]], the United States and Canada. They require a cool and fairly humid climate, and for this reason, they are found in the mountains of the temperate zones, while in the northernmost boreal zones, they are also found in the plains. Larch trees go further north than all, reaching in North America and Siberia the [[tundra]] and polar ice.<ref name="Tsepliaev"/> The larch species ''[[Larix gmelinii]]'' is the world's most northerly-growing tree, at 75° north in the [[Taymyr Peninsula]].<ref name="Farjon 1999">{{cite journal |last=Farjon |first=Aljos |author-link=Aljos Farjon |title=Introduction to the Conifers |journal=[[Curtis's Botanical Magazine]] |volume=16 |issue=3 |year=1999 |pages=158–172 |jstor=45065379}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines heights=350 widths=350>
File:Larch distribution.svg|Worldwide distribution of genus ''Larix''.<ref name="Qiu"/><br/>Positions are diagrammatic.
</gallery>

The larches are [[pioneer species]] not very demanding of the [[soil]] and they are very long-lived trees. They live in pure or mixed forests together with other conifers or more rarely with broad-leaved trees. In 1965, larch constituted 40.2% of the forests of the [[Soviet Union]] and had a cumulative volume of 28,450 million m³, (28.45 cubic kilometres, or 6.8 cubic miles) of solid wood; by a wide margin, the most abundant genus of trees on earth.<ref name="Tsepliaev">{{cite book |last=Tsepliaev |first=Vasilii P. |date=1965 |title=The Forests of the U.S.S.R. |location=Jerusalem |publisher=Israel Program for Scientific Translations |page=289 (Table 86)}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines heights=150 widths=220>
File:Nature in Khanty-Mansiya.jpg|''[[Larix sibirica]]'' in [[Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug|Khanty-Mansiya]], Russia
File:Raven Ridge - Flickr - brewbooks (2).jpg|''[[Larix lyallii]]'' forest in [[Washington (state)|Washington state]]
</gallery>

== Evolution ==

=== External phylogeny ===

The genus ''Larix'' belongs to the subfamily [[Laricoideae]], which includes the Douglas firs, genus ''[[Pseudotsuga]]''. The genus ''[[Cathaya]]'' was included in some older studies,<ref name="Farjon">{{cite book |last=Farjon |first=Aljos |title=A Handbook of the World's Conifers (2 Vols.) |publisher=BRILL |publication-place=Leiden |date=2010-04-27 |isbn=978-90-04-17718-5 |page=}}</ref> but based on [[transcriptome]] analysis, is now considered closer to ''[[Pinus]]'' and ''[[Picea]]''.<ref name="Yang">{{cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Yong |last2=Ferguson |first2=David Kay |last3=Liu |first3=Bing |last4=Mao |first4=Kang-Shan |last5=Gao |first5=Lian-Ming |last6=Zhang |first6=Shou-Zhou |last7=Wan |first7=Tao |last8=Rushforth |first8=Keith |last9=Zhang |first9=Zhi-Xiang |title=Recent advances on phylogenomics of gymnosperms and a new classification |journal=Plant Diversity |volume=44 |issue=4 |date=2022 |pmid=35967253 |pmc=9363647 |doi=10.1016/j.pld.2022.05.003 |doi-access=free |pages=340–350|bibcode=2022PlDiv..44..340Y }}</ref><ref name="Stull">{{Cite journal |last1=Stull |first1=Gregory W. |last2=Qu |first2=Xiao-Jian |last3=Parins-Fukuchi |first3=Caroline |last4=Yang |first4=Ying-Ying |last5=Yang |first5=Jun-Bo |last6=Yang |first6=Zhi-Yun |last7=Hu |first7=Yi |last8=Ma |first8=Hong |last9=Soltis |first9=Pamela S. |last10=Soltis |first10=Douglas E. |last11=Li |first11=De-Zhu |display-authors=5 |date=19 July 2021 |title=Gene duplications and phylogenomic conflict underlie major pulses of phenotypic evolution in gymnosperms |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-021-00964-4 |journal=Nature Plants |volume=7 |issue=8 |pages=1015–1025 |doi=10.1038/s41477-021-00964-4 |pmid=34282286 |bibcode=2021NatPl...7.1015S |s2cid=236141481 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The split of ''Larix'' from ''Pseudotsuga'' occurred about 45 million years ago.<ref name="Qiu">{{cite journal |last=Qiu |first=Xiu-Fei |last2=Liu |first2=Yan-Yan |last3=Wu |first3=Ge |last4=Xu |first4=Cong-Hui |last5=Liu |first5=Xin-Quan |last6=Xiang |first6=Xiao-Yan |last7=Wei |first7=Xiao-Xin |last8=Wang |first8=Xiao-Quan |title=Phylogenomic analyses shed new light on the spatiotemporal evolution of global larches: Implications for the dynamics of boreal forests |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=202 |date=2025 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2024.108240 |article-number=108240 |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S105579032400232X |access-date=2025-06-05|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

{{clade
|label1=[[Pinaceae]]
|1={{clade
   |label1=[[Abietoideae]] |sublabel1=(firs, cedars, hemlocks)
   |1=[[File:Abies alba - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-001.jpg|60px]]
   |label2=[[Pinoideae]]
   |2={{clade
      |label1=Lariceae
      |1={{clade
         |label1=''[[Pseudotsuga]]'' |sublabel1=(Douglas firs)
         |1=[[File:Pinetum woburnense (Douglas firs, page 185).jpg|50px]]
         |label2='''''Larix''''' |sublabel2=(larches) 
         |2=[[File:395 Larix europaea DC.jpg|60px]]
         }}
      |label2=Pineae
      |2={{clade
         |1={{clade
            |label1=''[[Cathaya]]'' |sublabel1=(1 sp.)
            |1=[[File:Cathaya argyrophylla leaves and cones.jpg|60px]]
            |label2=''[[Picea]]'' |sublabel2=(spruces) 
            |2=[[File:Pinetum woburnense (Spruce, page 146) (cropped).jpg|50px]]
            }}
         |label2=''[[Pinus]]'' |sublabel2=(pines)
         |2=[[File:496 Pinus silvestris.jpg|50px]]
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

=== Taxonomy and internal phylogeny ===

[[File:107 Larix griffithii, Chelela to Paro, Bhutan.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|''[[Larix griffithii]]'' in [[Bhutan]], a species with long bracts. This attribute had been thought to define a group within the genus.<ref name="Semerikov-1999"/>]]

The genus ''Larix'' was described by the English botanist [[Philip Miller]] in 1754.<ref name="ACS">{{cite web |title=Larix Genus (larch) |url=https://conifersociety.org/conifers/larix |publisher=[[American Conifer Society]] |access-date=12 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Philip |author1-link=Philip Miller |title=The Gardeners Dictionary |date=1754 |publisher=Philip Miller |location=London |edition=4th |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Gardeners_Dictionary/8AQ2AAAAMAAJ}}</ref> In the 20th century, cone bract length was used to divide the larches into two sections (sect. ''Larix'' with short bracts, and sect. ''Multiserialis'' with long bracts), but genetic evidence does not support this division, indicating instead that the cone and bract size are merely adaptations to climatic conditions.<ref name="Germand-1999">{{cite journal |author1=Gernandt, D. S. |author2=Liston, A. |year=1999 |title=Internal transcribed spacer region evolution in ''Larix'' and ''Pseudotsuga'' (Pinaceae) |journal=[[American Journal of Botany]] |volume=86 |pages=711–723 |doi=10.2307/2656581 |jstor=2656581 |issue=5 |publisher=Botanical Society of America |pmid=10330075 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name ="Stull"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Stull |first1=Gregory W. |display-authors=et al. |year=2021 |title=main.dated.supermatrix.tree.T9.tre |publisher=Figshare |doi=10.6084/m9.figshare.14547354.v1 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Gene_duplications_and_genomic_conflict_underlie_major_pulses_of_phenotypic_evolution_in_gymnosperms/14547354 |doi-access=}}</ref> 

Late 20th century and early 21st century genetic studies proposed three groups within the genus, with a primary division into North American and Eurasian species, and a secondary division of the Eurasian into northern short-bracted species and southern long-bracted species;<ref name="Semerikov-1999">{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/sj.hdy.6885310 |title=Genetic relationship among Eurasian and American ''Larix'' species based on allozymes |year=1999 |last1=Semerikov |first1=Vladimir L. |last2=Lascoux |first2=Martin |journal=Heredity |volume=83 |pages=62–70 |pmid=10447704 |s2cid=22249365|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Wei-2003">{{cite journal |author1=Wei, X.-X. |author2=Wang, X.-Q. |year=2003 |title=Phylogenetic split of ''Larix'': evidence from paternally inherited cpDNA trnT-trnF region |journal=Plant Systematics and Evolution |volume=239 |issue=1–2 |pages=67–77 |doi=10.1007/s00606-002-0264-3 |bibcode=2003PSyEv.239...67W |s2cid=39213284}}</ref><ref name="Wei-2004">{{cite journal |author1=Wei, X.-X. |author2=Wang, X.-Q. |year=2004 |title=Recolonization and radiation in ''Larix'' (Pinaceae): evidence from nuclear ribosomal DNA paralogues |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=13 |pages=3115–3123 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02299.x |pmid=15367124 |issue=10 |bibcode=2004MolEc..13.3115W |s2cid=11329782}}</ref><ref name="Gros-Louis-2005">{{cite journal |title=Species-diagnostic markers in ''Larix'' spp. based on RAPDs and nuclear, cpDNA, and mtDNA gene sequences, and their phylogenetic implications |year=2005 |doi=10.1007/s11295-005-0007-z |last1=Gros-Louis |first1=Marie-Claude |last2=Bousquet |first2=Jean |last3=Pâques |first3=Luc E. |last4=Isabel |first4=Nathalie |journal=Tree Genetics & Genomes |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=50–63 |s2cid=44245647}}</ref> there was dispute over the position of ''Larix sibirica'', a short-bracted species which is placed in the short-bracted group by some of the studies and the long-bracted group by others.<ref name="Qiu"/> Ten species and one natural hybrid of larch are accepted by [[Plants of the World Online]] (POWO),<ref name=POWO>{{cite web |work=Plants of the World Online |title=''Larix'' Mill. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30017099-2 |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |location=London |access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref> following the [[Lumpers and splitters|conservative]] treatment in Farjon (2010);<ref name="Farjon"/> several others are accepted by the ''Flora of China''.<ref name="FoC">{{cite web |title=''Larix'' in the ''Flora of China'' @ efloras.org |website=eFloras.org Home |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=117628 |access-date=2025-01-23}}</ref>

However, a 2025 study by Qiu and colleagues cast doubt on the species circumscriptions accepted by Farjon and the POWO;<ref name="Qiu"/> it showed that ''Larix himalaica'' is close to ''L. griffithii'' as geographic parsimony would predict (and not to ''L. potaninii'' as Farjon believed), and that ''L. speciosa'' is distinct and should be treated as a separate species. Conversely, they found that ''L. mastersiana'' was embedded within ''L. potaninii'' and may be best synonymised with it. Their results showed that the division between Old World and New World species as suggested by earlier studies is not correct, but rather, the primary divide is between the high-latitude circumboreal species, and the low latitude Sino-Himalayan species group, as shown in the [[cladogram]].<ref name="Qiu"/>{{-}}

{{clade|style=font-size:90%;line-height:110%
|label1='''''Larix'''''
|1={{clade
   |label1=[[Circumboreal Region|Circumboreal]]
   |1={{clade
      |label1=[[North America]]
      |1={{clade
         |1={{clade
            |1=''[[Larix occidentalis|L. occidentalis]]'' <small>Nuttall</small> – Western larch. NW United States, SW Canada      
            |2=''[[Larix laricina|L. laricina]]'' <small>(Du Roi) Koch</small> – Tamarack or American larch. [[Alaska]], Canada, NE United States
            }}
         |2=''[[Larix lyallii|L. lyallii]]'' <small>Parlatore</small> – Subalpine larch. Mountains of NW United States, SW Canada, at very high altitude
         }}
      |label2=[[Northern Eurasia]]
      |2={{clade
         |1=''[[Larix decidua|L. decidua]]'' <small>Miller</small> – European larch. Mountains of central Europe
         |2={{clade
            |1=''[[Larix sibirica|L. sibirica]]'' <small>Ledeb.</small> – Siberian larch. Plains of W [[Siberia]]
            |2={{clade
               |1=''[[Larix kaempferi|L. kaempferi]]'' <small>(Lamb.) Carrière</small> – Japanese larch. Mountains of central Japan
               |2=''[[Larix gmelinii|L. gmelinii]]'' <small>(Rupr.) Kuzen.</small> – Dahurian larch. Plains of central and E Siberia
               }}
            }} 
         }}
      }}
   |label2=[[Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau]]
   |2={{clade
      |label1=[[Hengduan Mountains]]
      |1={{clade
         |1=''[[Larix griffithii|L. griffithii]]'' var ''speciosa'' <small>Hooker</small> – Yunnan larch
         |2=''[[Larix potaninii|L. potaninii]]'' vars ''chinensis'', ''macrocarpa'', ''potaninii'' <small>Batalin</small> inc. ''L. mastersiana'' – (Chinese larch)
         }}
      |label2=[[Eastern Himalayas]]
      |2={{clade
         |1=[[Larix himalaica|''L. potaninii'' var ''himalaica'']] <small>Batalin</small> – Langtang larch 
         |2=''[[Larix griffithii|L. griffithii]]'' var ''griffithii'' <small>Hooker</small> – Sikkim larch
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

=== Hybrids ===

[[File:Larix x marschlinsii16.jpg|thumb|''Larix × marschlinsii'', the Dunkeld larch, a commercially important [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] ]]

Most larches can be [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridised]] in cultivation;<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> these hybrids are not discussed by POWO as they are not of natural occurrence. [[:commons:category:Larix × marschlinsii|''Larix'' × ''marschlinsii'']] {{small|Coaz}} (syn. ''L.'' × ''eurolepis''), the '''Dunkeld larch'''<!--redirects here-->, a hybrid of ''L. decidua'' × ''L. kaempferi'', is by far the best known: it is of major importance in [[forestry]] in northern Europe. It arose more or less simultaneously in Switzerland and Scotland in 1901–1904.<ref name="Candolle">{{cite journal |last1=Candolle |first1=Roger de |last2=Burdet |first2=Hervé M. |title=The correct name of the Dunkeld, or Hybrid, Larch |journal=International Dendrology Society Yearbook |date=1983 |volume=1982 |pages=67–68}}</ref> Other named hybrids include ''Larix'' × ''pendula'' {{small|(Sol.) Salisb.}} (''L. decidua'' × ''L. laricina''),<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 |page=142 |access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref> and ''Larix'' × ''eurokurilensis'' {{small|Rohm.}} (''L. decidua'' × ''L. gmelinii'').<ref name=Vidaković/>

== Ecology ==

=== Species interactions ===

Larches are associated with some [[mycorrhiza]]l fungal species, including species which primarily or only associate with larch. One of the most prominent of these is the [[larch bolete]] ''[[Suillus grevillei]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Nathan |title=British larch-associated Basidiomycota: a review |journal=Field Mycology |date=2017 |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=98–103 |doi=10.1016/j.fldmyc.2017.07.010 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Larch is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of moths such as the larch pug, ''[[Eupithecia lariciata]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Larch Pug Eupithecia lariciata |url=https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/eupithecia-lariciata/ |website=UK Moths |access-date=11 September 2025}}</ref>
The large larch bark beetle, ''[[Ips cembrae]]'', can be harmful to already-weakened larch trees, but is in general a less serious threat than a related species, the spruce bark beetle ''[[European spruce bark beetle|Ips typographus]]'', is to [[spruce]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Large larch bark beetle (Ips cembrae) |url=https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/fthr/pest-and-disease-resources/large-larch-bark-beetle-ips-cembrae/ |publisher=Forest Research |access-date=11 September 2025}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180>
File:Suill.grev.jpg|The [[larch bolete]] ''[[Suillus grevillei]]'', a [[mycorrhiza]]l mushroom, always grows under larches.<ref name="Arora1986">{{cite book |last=Arora |first=David |author-link=David Arora |url=https://archive.org/details/arora-david-mushrooms-demystified-a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-fleshy-fungi-ten-speed-press-1986/page/497/mode/2up |title=Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi |publisher=[[Ten Speed Press]] |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-89815-170-1 |edition=2nd |location=Berkeley, California |page=497 |orig-date=1979}}</ref>
File:Lärchenborkenkäfer Draufsicht.png|Adult large larch bark beetle, ''[[Ips cembrae]]''
File:Lärchenborkenkäfer Brutbild.JPG|Galleries of ''Ips cembrae'' under the bark
</gallery>

=== Diseases ===

Larches are prone to the [[fungus|fungal]] [[canker]] disease ''[[Lachnellula]]'' spp. (larch canker); this is a problem when late spring frosts cause minor injuries to the tree, allowing entry to the fungal spores. In Canada, this disease was first detected in 1980; it kills ''Larix laricina'' of any age.<ref>[http://www.exoticpests.gc.ca/es-details/disease/1000096 European larch canker] Natural Resources Canada, accessed 23 April 2021</ref>
Larches are vulnerable to ''[[Phytophthora ramorum]]''. In 2013 the disease appeared in the [[Afan Forest Park]] in south [[Wales]].<ref>{{cite news |publisher=[[BBC]] |title=Thousands of Afan Forest trees planted after infected larch |date=21 February 2015 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-31559342 |access-date=23 February 2015}}</ref>
''[[Laricifomes officinalis]]'' is another mushroom found in Europe, North America and northern Asia that causes internal wood rot. It is almost exclusive to the genus ''Larix''. Other diseases are caused by mushrooms, fungal rusts, and bacteria.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sayakova |first=Galiya |date=2022 |title=Actual prospects of using some types of larch growing in Kazakhstan in medicine |url=https://medandlife.org/wp-content/uploads/JMedLife-15-1038.pdf |journal=Journal of Medicine and Life |volume=15 |issue=8 |pages=1038–1046 |doi=10.25122/jml-2021-0373 |pmc=9514822}}</ref>

== Uses ==

Larch [[timber]] has many uses, including [[Boat building|boatbuilding]], exterior [[Cladding (construction)|cladding]], and interior panelling. Outdoor uses include [[fence|fencing]], gates, [[Deck (building)|decking]], [[garden furniture]], and [[playground equipment]]. Since the [[heartwood]] is strong, durable, and available in large sizes, it is used for structures such as agricultural buildings. The [[Savill Building]] in [[Windsor Great Park]] has a timber roof shell made of many relatively thin laths, interlocking to provide strength. The wood is used, too, as fuel in industrial [[Biomass (energy)|biomass energy]] plants. The bark used as a [[mulch]] in [[horticulture]]. [[Arabinogalactan]], used in animal feed, cosmetics, and medicines, is extracted from heartwood. Larch trees can be tapped for liquid to be distilled into [[Venice turpentine]]. The tree yields [[rosin]] for violin bows and an [[essential oil]] used in [[aromatherapy]].<ref name="FR Properties and Uses">{{cite book |last1=McLean |first1=Paul |last2=Ridley-Ellis |first2=Dan |last3=Price |first3=Andrew |last4=Macdonald |first4=Elspeth |title=Research Report Wood properties and uses of larch in Great Britain |date=April 2024 |publisher=Forest Research |location=Farnham |chapter=Suitability for different products |pages=20–26 |url=https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2024/04/Wood-properties-and-uses-of-larch-in-Great-Britain.pdf}}</ref> European Standard EN 350-2 lists larch as slightly to moderately durable.<ref>European Standard EN 350-2 (1994); Durability of Wood and Wood-based Products – Natural Durability of Solid Wood: Guide to natural durability and treatability of selected wood species of importance in Europe</ref>
Dunkeld larch is widely grown as its timber is durable and strong, and the tree tolerates poor weather better than non-hybrid larches.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hybrid larch |url=https://forestryandland.gov.scot/learn/trees/hybrid-larch |publisher=[[Forestry and Land Scotland]] |access-date=15 September 2025}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180>
File:Concordia molen Ede stijl korbeel.jpg|Larch wood in use to restore the Concordia mill, Netherlands
File:Saville Building roof interior long.jpg|The roof shell of the [[Savill Building]] is made of interlocking larch laths.<ref name="FR Properties and Uses"/>
</gallery>

== In culture ==

The Roman architect [[Vitruvius]] conjectured in his ''[[De architectura]]'' that the Latin name for timber from the tree, {{lang|la|larigna}}, came from the town of Larignum, where [[Julius Caesar]], besieging the town, supposedly discovered the larch.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nichols |first=Marden Fitzpatrick |title=Julius Caesar and the Larch: burning questions at Vitruvius' ''De Architectvra'' 2.9.15–16 |journal=The Classical Quarterly |volume=74 |issue=1 |date=2024 |doi=10.1017/S0009838824000120 |doi-access=free |pages=135–148 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/B046C3CDFA753503F234499C663BA800/S0009838824000120a.pdf/div-class-title-julius-caesar-and-the-larch-burning-questions-at-vitruvius-span-class-italic-de-architectvra-span-2-9-15-16-div.pdf |access-date=7 June 2025}}</ref> 
More recently, the [[Monty Python]] comedy troupe [[List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes|filmed a sketch<!-- in 1969-->]] with three schoolboys shown slides of the larch and asked which trees they were able to identify.<ref>{{cite web |title=Monty Python |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/22/monty-pythons-greatest-skits-best-sketches-o2-shows |publisher=[[The Guardian]] |date=22 June 2014}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180>
File:Larch, from The Park and the Forest James Duffield Harding 1841.jpg|''Larch, from The Park and the Forest'', [[James Duffield Harding]], 1841
File:James Ward - Larch Tree - Google Art Project.jpg|''Larch tree'' pencil drawing,<br/>[[James Ward (English artist)|James Ward]], before 1859
File:Franz Marc, Lärchenbäumchen.jpg|''Larch sapling'',<br/>[[Franz Marc]], 1908
File:Berry Lärchen im Schnee.jpeg|''Larch in first snow'',<br/>[[:de:Peter Robert Berry|Peter Robert Berry]], 1914
File:Lovis Corinth Lärche am Waldsee 1923.jpg|''Larch by forest lake'',<br/>[[Lovis Corinth]], 1923
File:Lovis Corinth Walchensee mit Lärche 1923.jpg|''Walchensee with fountain'',<br/>[[Lovis Corinth]], 1923
File:Stamp of Russia 2013 No 1684 Larix cajanderi.jpg|Russian 15 rouble stamp, 2013,<br/>''[[Larix cajanderi]]''
</gallery>

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* {{cite web |url=http://www.conifers.org/pi/Larix.php |title=Larix (larch) description |work=The Gymnosperm Database |editor1-first=Christopher J. |editor1-last=Earle |year=2011 |ref=none}}
* {{cite journal |last=Givnish |first=Thomas J. |year=2002 |title=Adaptive significance of evergreen vs. deciduous leaves: solving the triple paradox |journal=Silva Fennica |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=703–743 |doi=10.14214/sf.535 |url=http://www.botany.wisc.edu/givnish/Givnish/Welcome_files/2002SF.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407093509/http://www.botany.wisc.edu/givnish/Givnish/Welcome_files/2002SF.pdf |archive-date=2014-04-07 |url-status=live |quote=''The larch paradox''—Finally, let us turn to one last, enduring ecological paradox: the deciduous habit of larches (''Larix'') at high latitudes in nutrient-poor peatlands in the northern hemisphere, where evergreen plants are expected to dominate and often do. |doi-access=free |ref=none}} Quote from p.&nbsp;729.
* Phillips, D. H., & Burdekin, D. A. (1992). ''Diseases of Forest and Ornamental Trees''. Macmillan {{ISBN|0-333-49493-8}}.

==External links==

{{Commons category}}

* Friedman, William (Ned). [https://arboretum.harvard.edu/stories/larch-cones-in-spring/ "Larch cones in spring"]. ''Posts from the Collection'', Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 2 April 2016. 
* Rose, Nancy. [https://arboretum.harvard.edu/stories/not-all-conifers-are-evergreen/ "Not All Conifers are Evergreen"]. Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 6 January 2016. 
* [https://arboretum.harvard.edu/stories/snow-scenes-winter-larches-1977/ "Snow Scenes, winter, larches 1977"]. ''Library Featured Images'', Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 21 November 2019.
* {{cite web |title=Gymnosperm Database - Larix ssp. |url=http://www.conifers.org/pi/Larix.php}}
* {{cite web |last=Eichhorn |first=Markus |title=The Larch |url=http://www.test-tube.org.uk/trees/video_larch.htm |work=Test Tube |publisher=[[Brady Haran]] for the [[University of Nottingham]] |date=August 2011 |ref=none}}

{{Tannin source}}
{{Woodworking}}
{{Plant classification}}
{{Acrogymnospermae classification}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q25618}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Larix|Larix]]
[[Category:Deciduous conifers]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Philip Miller]]
[[Category:Forestry]]