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Larix
Also called Larches
Larches are tall, deciduous conifers in the pine family that lose their needles each autumn, grown as forest and timber trees across the cool Northern Hemisphere. They are very hardy and long-lived, and they grow well in cold, fairly humid climates.
Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus Larix, of the pine family, Pinaceae. Growing to as much as 60 m (195 ft) 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 boreal forests of Siberia and Canada, making them the most abundant genus of trees on earth. Larch wood is tough and relatively durable; it is used in boatbuilding, cladding, decking, garden furniture, fencing, and construction. Products extracted from larch include arabinogalactan (larch gum), rosin, turpentine, and an essential oil.
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, their distribution includes the mountains of the temperate zones, while in the northernmost boreal zones, they are also found in the plains. Larix grows further north than any other tree genus, in North America and Siberia reaching the tundra and polar ice. The larch species Larix gmelinii is the world's most northerly-growing tree, at 75° north in the Taymyr Peninsula.
Larch timber has many uses, including boatbuilding, exterior cladding, and interior panelling. Outdoor uses include fencing, gates, 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 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. European Standard EN 350-2 lists larch as slightly to moderately durable.
European Larch · Dahurian Larch · Japanese Larch · Eastern Larch · Siberian Larch
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Larch by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
