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Larix potaninii



Larix potaninii - Chinese larch
  • Larix potaninii - Chinese larch  - Click to enlarge
  • Larix potaninii leaves - Click to enlarge
  • Larix potaninii trees - Click to enlarge

 

Scientific name: Larix potaninii  Batalin  1894

Synonyms: Larix griffithii Mast., Larix potaninii var. australis Hand.-Mazz., Larix potaninii var. potaninii, Larix thibetica Franch. 

Infraspecific taxa: Larix potaninii var. chinensis (Voss) L.K.Fu & Nan Li, Larix potaninii var. himalaica (W.C.Cheng & L.K.Fu) Farjon & Silba, Larix potaninii var. macrocarpa Y.W.Law

Common names: Chinese larch (English), Hongshan (Chinese)

 

Description

Tree to 35(-50) m tall, with trunk to 0.8(-1.5) m in diameter. Bark smooth at first, becoming scaly, and finally breaking up into narrow, flat-topped gray plates separated by deep reddish-brown furrows. Crown broadly egg-shaped, fairly open, with long, slender, gently upswept branches. New branchlets pale yellowish brown to (more commonly) dark reddish brown, turning gray in the second and third year, not waxy, hairless or with a few hairs in the shallow grooves. Buds small, about 3 mm long, plumply egg-shaped, dark reddish brown, somewhat resinous. Needles of spur shoots straight, (20-)30-40(-50) on each spur, soft, (1-)1.5-3(-3.5) cm long and about 1-1.5 mm wide, bright green, turning brilliant golden yellow in autumn before falling. Midrib prominently raised beneath and not or weakly so above, with one or two obscure lines of stomates on either side above and a prominent white stomatal band on each side beneath. Pollen cones about 10 mm long, pale yellowish brown. Seed cones fairly cylindrical although a little narrower above, (2-)3-5(-7.5) cm long, with 35-65(-90) seed scales, purple with red bracts before maturity, ripening dark brown with purplish brown bracts, on a stout, curved stalk about 5 mm long. Seed scales roundly rectangular, about as long as wide to half again longer, the tip squared off, opening widely and flat or a little curled back, variously hairy on the outer face. Bracts 1-2 cm long, slightly longer than and obviously sticking up straight between the seed scales, tongue- or bladelike with a sharp bristle tip 1-3 mm long. Seed body 3-4 mm long, without resin pockets, the firmly clasping wing another 5-8 mm longer.

The species name honors Grigorii N. Potanin (1835 - 1920), a Russian botanist and explorer of eastern Siberia, Mongolia, and China who in 1893 collected the type specimen near Kangding (formerly Tatsienlu) in western Sichuan province, the region from which most later material has been collected.

From Mount Everest (Nepal and China) eastward discontinuously through the eastern Himalaya and in the mountains of western China from southeastern Xizang (Tibet) and northwestern Yunnan north through western Sichuan to southern Gansu and southwestern Shaanxi. Forming pure stands in the subalpine zone but more commonly mixed with other montane conifers below this belt and reaching its best development along streamsides at middle elevations; (2,350-)3,000-4,000(-4,300) m.

 

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

This taxon has a wide range in central and western China, and although a popular timber tree, it is not known to have undergone a large population reduction. It is therefore listed as Least Concern; but further research is required to determine if there have in fact been significant past reductions.

Larix potaninii and its varieties are high mountain larches occurring between 2,350 m and 4,300 m altitude a.s.l. The soils are acidic mountain podzols. The climate is cold, the precipitation varies from 800 mm to 2,000 mm annually according to location. At high elevations it grows often pure, with undergrowth of Juniperus squamata, elsewhere it is usually mixed with Abies spp., Picea spp., Tsuga dumosa or Tsuga chinensis, Cephalotaxus spp. and Taxus spp.

Chinese larch is an important timber tree in the western mountains of China. Its wood is durable and can be used for construction purposes, mining props and railway sleepers, as well as milled for veneer and pulped for the paper industry. It is rarely used in forestry plantations outside China and for amenity planting. It is in cultivation only as specimen trees in some arboreta and pineta; most trees in Europe and the USA derived from seed collected by Ernest Wilson and other plant collectors early in the 20th century and often have not survived. There are numerous recent collections planted, however, these are still confined to arboreta. This species should be planted more often in suitable regions (climate) as it has large, attractive cones with conspicuous upturned bracts.

The Government of China has recently imposed a logging ban in western China. Presumably it occurs in protected areas across its range. Further research is required to determine if there have been any significant population reductions or if there are any threats.

 

Cultivars: -

 

References

  • Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
  • Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.
  • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland

Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.


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