Western Larch Totally Explained

Everything about Western Larch totally explained

Western Larch (Larix occidentalis) is a species of larch native to the mountains of western North America, in Canada in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, and in the United States in eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Idaho and western Montana. It is a large deciduous coniferous tree reaching 30-60 m tall, with a trunk up to 1.5 m diameter. The crown is narrow conic; the main branches are level to upswept, with the side branches often drooping. The shoots are dimorphic, with growth divided into long shoots (typically 10-50 cm long) and bearing several buds, and short shoots only 1-2 mm long with only a single bud. The leaves are needle-like, light green, 2-5 cm long, and very slender; they turn bright yellow in the fall, leaving the pale orange-brown shoots bare until the next spring.
   The cones are ovoid-cylindric, 2-5 cm long, with 40-80 seed scales; each scale bearing an exserted 4-8 mm bract. The cones are red when immature, turning brown and the scales opening flat or reflexed to release the seeds when mature, 4-6 months after pollination. The old cones commonly remain on the tree for many years, turning dull gray-black.
   It grows at 500-2,400 m altitude, and is very cold tolerant, able to survive winter temperatures down to about −50 °C. It only grows on well-drained soils, avoiding waterlogged ground.
   The seeds are an important food for some birds, notably Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll and White-winged Crossbill.

Uses

The wood is tough and durable, but also flexible in thin strips, and is particularly valued for yacht building; wood used for this must be free of knots, and can only be obtained from old trees that were pruned when young to remove side branches. Small larch poles are widely used for rustic fencing.
   Western Larch is used for the production of Venice turpentine.
   The wood is highly prized as firewood in the Pacific Northwest where it's commonly called "Tamarack," although it's a different species than the Tamarack Larch. The wood burns with a sweet fragrance and a distinctive popping noise.
   Indigenous peoples used to chew gum produced from the tree as well as eat the cambium and sap.

References and external links

Image:Larix occidentalis UKtallest.jpg|Tree with fall colors Image:Larix occidentalis1.jpg|Leaves and immature cones in spring

Further Information

Get more info on 'Western Larch'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://western_larch.totallyexplained.com">Western Larch Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.