(Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carrière)
Habitus
- tree growing to a height of 30 m
- morphologically similar to deciduous larch
Buds
- buds are conical, about 3 mm in size, reddish-brown, shiny, resinous
Shoots
- annuals are bronze brown to reddish (as if frosted)
Leaves (assimilation organs)
- needle-shaped, needles are 20 - 35 x 1 - 1.5 mm large, soft, bluish-green on the underside with indistinct light bands of stomata
- they grow on annuals individually in a spiral
- they grow on brachyblasts in bundles of 40 – 50
- in autumn they turn yellow and fall off
Flowers
- monoecious tree, with flowers of different sexes
- blooms III – IV
- flowers are morphologically similar to the flowers of Larix decidua
- male (♂) cones broadly ovoid, yellow, grow from brachyblasts on the underside of the branch
- female (♀) cones are almost spherical, green, the supporting scales are yellowish to reddish with a curved top (they also grow from brachyblasts)
Fruits – seeds
- the fruit is a cone 2 - 3 cm large, almost spherical, brown
- seeded scales are long with the edge curved towards the base of the cone !
- ripens IX – X
Extension
- originally in Japan on the island of Honshu from 1,300 to 2,700 m a.s.l
- it was introduced to Europe in 1861
- in the territory of Slovakia it is only found as a cultivated species
Ecology
- less light-demanding (than other larches), requires higher soil moisture
- in Slovakia it is resistant to low temperatures
- it grows quickly
Significance
- as a park tree
- it tolerates the urban environment well
- decorative with fresh greenery, recoloring needles in autumn, pine cones
- a twisted form - tortuosa is often grown
