Larix lyallii

Subalpine Larch ( Larix lyallii ) in autumn

The Subalpine Larch ( Larix lyallii ) is a deciduous tree species from the genus of larches ( Larix) in the pine family ( Pinaceae ) which is native to the northwest of North America. The specific epithet honors the Scottish physician and naturalist David Lyall, who discovered the species.

Description

Habit

The Subalpine Larch is a deciduous tree that usually reaches stature heights of 20 to 30 meters, sometimes up to 25 meters and diameter at breast height of 40 to 60 centimeters. An unfavorable wind-exposed sites, the species grows latsch shaped and is barely larger than 20 centimeters. The open crown is wide and of irregular shape with long and often crooked branches. The branches hang down. The Subalpine Larch reached a maximum age of 400 to 500 in some cases up to 1,000 years.

Foliage

The standing in clusters 20 to 30 needle-like leaves are 2 to 3.5 inches long and dull blue-green. They are usually on the short shoots, only rarely will you find individual needles at denLangtrieben. They have two small resin canals. In Autumn the leaves color bright golden yellow before falling. The needles are formed depending on the location of the end of May to mid-June and end -September from fall to early October.

Flowers, cones and seeds

The Subalpine larch is monoecious - getrenntgeschlechtig ( monoecious ) rarely hermaphrodite. The flowering takes place about a week before leaves emerge. The approximately 1 -inch-long female cones are bright purple, sometimes green. Pollen have diameters from 78 to 93 microns. For pollination warm, dry weather is needed. The 2.5 to 4 centimeters long and 1.9 centimeters wide cones are initially purple, dark brown when ripe in the autumn of the year flowering. They have thin cone scales protrude their peaks far above the pin. The seeds will shed about 1.3 centimeters and the bracts about 1.6 inches long. The yellow to purple seeds are 4 millimeters long and 2.7 millimeters wide. They have about 6 millimeters wide wings. The thousand-seed weight is 3.2 to 4.3 grams.

Bark

The bark is initially more yellow-gray, aged dark reddish brown; it forms deep cracks and dissolves in small scaly plates. Quite in contrast to the Western Larch (Larix occidentalis), the bark is relatively thin. The bark of the branches is year-long fine hairs. By the third year it is verkahlt, very rough and grayish black color.

Root

The Subalpine Larch forms a deep root system, which is dominated by a taproot. The Lateralwurzel form sinker roots that penetrate between rocks and anchoring the tree so.

Wood

The reddish- brown heartwood is surrounded by a narrow opaque white sapwood. Little is known about the physical and anatomical features of the timber.

Distribution and location

The home of the Subalpine Larch is located in the north-western North America in a relatively small area, which is located in the border area of the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta and the U.S. states of Washington, Idaho and Montana. It grows in mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains and the Northern Cascade Range.

The Subalpine Larch is a very hardy in full sunlight. It occurs at altitudes of over 2,300 meters in the mountains. But occasionally even deeper avalanche paths and scree slopes are populated. She needs to grow annual precipitation 1020-1140 mm. On dry sites, they are found near streams or seepage sites. This species is a specialist in acidic, gritty and in humus -poor soils which have arisen from granite or quartzite. There are even floors are covered with fly ash settled. Stocks on basic sites are rare. Are formed mixed stands with Pinus albicaulis, the Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa ) and Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii ).

Diseases and Pests

The Subalpine Larch is seriously threatened neither disease nor insect pests. As a leaf parasite is considered a type of fungus of the genus Meria. As Kernfäuleerreger applies the kind Formes officinalis. The species is considered vulnerable to the two rust fungi Melampsora medusae and Melampsora occidentalis.

Use

The wood of the Subalpine Larch is hard and resistant to weathering but is rarely used due to the difficult access stocks. The ecological benefits that the species has by stabilizing steep slopes and prevent avalanches is enormous. It offers many animal species protection and food.

System

In the natural habitat the Subalpine Larch sometimes hybridizes with the Western Larch (Larix occidentalis).

Swell

• Bulk, Weisgerber, Schuck, Long, vocal, Roloff: Encyclopedia of conifers. Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 3-933203-80-5, pp. 237-241.
• Christopher J. Earle: Larix lyallii. In: The Gymnosperm Database. Accessed on September 6, 2012 ( English).
• Description of Larix lyallii in the Flora of North America. (English )