F HU TT CE ' I ' U -M l i l U I ' A N N I C l 'M .
Spec. Char., f r . Leaves fascicled, deciduous. Cones ovate-oblong ; scales
reflexed at the margin, lacerate ; bracteoles panduriform. Leaves linear,
soft, 1 in. long, Cone from 1 in. to I J in. long, erect. A tall, pyramidal,
deciduous tree. Alps of the South of Europe. Iieight 80 ft. to 100 ft. In
cultivation in Britain since 1629. Flowering in March or A p ril; and ripening
its cones in the autumn of the same year.
Varieties. AU the larches in cultivation are, probably, only different forms of
the same species ; bnt, as the American larches, which have small fruit,
come tolerably true froTn seed, we shall treat them as one spedes, and the
European larch as another. The latter is characterised by large cones, rapiil
growth, and robust h a b it; and the former by small cones, slow growth, and
slender habit,
S L. c. 1 commimis Laws. Man. p. 386. — Branches “ aspiring towards
their points ; branchlets very numerous, and forming a dense conical
or pyramidal top; foliage of a light grassy or vivid'green ; and bark
rather more rugged than that of L. e. 2 láxa.”
t L. c. 2 láxa Laws. 1. c. — “ True specimens of this variety may easily
be distinguished from the others when in nursery rows, by their
more rapid growth, more horizontal and less crowded branches, and
by the darker green, or somewhat glaticous, colour of the foliage.”
Í L. <?. 3 compácta Laws. 1. c. — “ In habit of growth, the tree is conical
or pyramidal, like the common larch ; but its branches are very brittle,
or easily broken from the trunk ; numerous, horizontal, or slightly
bent down near the b a se ; aspiring afterwards, and the larger ones
are finally erect towards the point, with pretty regularly verticillate
branchlets ; towards the centre of the tree, however, these are pendulous,
and remarkably thickly interwoven with one another.”
1,. e. 4 péndula Laws. 1. c.—“ Distinguished by the very pendulous
habit of its branches, which somewhat resemble those of L. americana
péndula ; from which, however, it differs in the greater length
of its leaves, and the larger size of its cones.” A native of the Tyrolese
Alps.—L. e. pendida Godsállü Gard. Mag. vol. xv. p. 549.,
and the figure there given, is a sub-variety ; or, more probably, identical
with this variety. It was selected by Mr. Godsall from a bed of
seedlings of tho common larch.—L. e. ripens Laws. 1. c. is another
sub-variety. The branches spread along the ground to a great distance.
Á tree at Henham Hall, Suffolk, planted about 1800, at
the height of 8 ft. sends out its branches horizontally, and these,
being supported, extend north and south over a covered way more
than 80 ft. in length, and 16 ft. in width. Another branch extends
to the west about 8 ft. ; and on the east the branches droop to the
ground and form a [jerfect curtain, as they (lo also on the west side.
(See Gard. Mag., vol xv. p. 626.)
Î L. e. 5 flòre rùbro Hort. Trans, iv. p. 4 1 6 .— The flowers vary in
shade of red or pink, and some of them are more or less mixed with
yellow. The cones are also red, or reddish yellow. The majority
of the trees in thc Duke of Athol’s plantations at Dunkch and
Blair have red fiowers.
Î L. e. 6 flòre álbo. Larch from the Tyrol, with white Flowers, Hort.
Trans. I.e . — The leaves of this variety are not different from those
of the common larch ; but the shoots are said to be much stronger ;
and the cones white, as well as the flowers.
Ï L. e. 7 sibirica. L. sibirica Fisch. ; ? L. archangcHca Laws. Man.
p. 389. ; L. róssica Sab. in Hort. Soc. Gard. ; /'inus L. sibirica
Lodd. Cat.; the Russian Larch, Hort. Trans, iv. p. 416. — There
are trees of this variety in the Duke of Athol’s plantations, raised
from seeds procured from Archangel in 1806. The appearance of
the tree is said to be coarser than that of L. e. commimis. I t is of
much slower growth than the larches of the Tyrol ; and the leaves
L x x v u . c o n i ' f e r æ : a a ' r i x . lO.b.'r
come out so early in spring, that they are liable to be injured by
tro.st. Ih e female catkins do not expand their flowers till some
time after those of the European larch a])pear. The cones are like
those of tlie American larch.
35 Î L. c. 8 dahùrica. L. dahùrica Lams. Man. p. 389. — Said to he a
stunted, bushy, and irregular-growing tree. Dahuria. Introduced
in 1827. Generally propagated by cuttings or layers,
ï L. 9 intermèdia. L. intermèdia Laws. M. p. 389. ; Pinus intermèdia
Lodd.Cat. ed. 1836; the Altaian Larch. — A very strong luxuriant
habit of growth, with pendulous branches, and very large leaves.
Introduced in 1816, or before. Lod.
Other Varieties. L. Fràseri Comp. Bot. Mag. vol. It. p. 304. was discovered
and introduced by J. Fraser and his son, between 1785 and 1817 •
but it is apparently lost. ’
The wood of the larch is com])act, and of a reddish or brown tinge; and, on
favourable soils, is said to be fit for every useful purpose in 40 years’ growth ■
while that of the pinaster requires 60 years, and the Scotch pine 80 years. Thé
greatest drawback to the wood of the larch is its liability to warp. The rate
of growth of the larch, in the climate of London, is from 20 ft. to 25 ft. in 10
1972. /.. .-iii-cpm'a.
years from the seed ; and nearly as great on the declivities of hills and
mountains in the Highlands of Scotland. In the course of 50 j-ears, the tree
will attain the height of 80 ft, or upwards ; and, in its native habitats, according
to Willdenow, it lives from 150 to 200 years. The wood, according
to Hartig, weighs 68 lb. 13 oz. per cubic foot when green, and 36 Ib. 6 oz.
when dry ; and, according to Kasfhofler, it lasts four times longer than that of
any otlier species of Abietrn^. Though the wood of the larch ignites with
difficulty, and a fire made of it will, if not attended to, extinguish itself before
the wood is half-consumed, yet, if properly managed, the wood of oltl trees is
capable of producing an intense heat. The charcoal is more rich in carbon than
that of the spruce or the silver fir, but less so than that of pine or beech.
It is very heavy, and weighs 16-| lb. per cubic fo o t; it is said to be excellent
for iron foiinderies. The bark of young larches is astringent, and it is used in
the Alps for tanning leather; where theleaves and young shoots are sometimes
given to cattle. The resinous products of the larch are, Venice turpentine,
amd the manna de Brian9on; and both arc u.sed in the state in which
they are procured from the tree. To obtain the turpentine, trees are chosen