Dahurian Larch
Encyclopedia
Dahurian Larch, Larix gmelinii, is a species of larch
native to eastern Siberia
, and adjacent northeastern Mongolia
, northeastern China
(Heilongjiang
) and North Korea
.
coniferous
tree
reaching 10-30 m tall, rarely 40 m, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter. The crown is broad conic; both the main branches and the side branches are level, the side branches only rarely drooping. The shoots are dimorphic, with growth divided into long shoots (typically 5-30 cm long) and bearing several bud
s, and short shoots only 1-2 mm long with only a single bud. The leaves
are needle-like, light green, 2-3 cm long; they turn bright yellow to orange before they fall in the autumn, leaving the variably downy reddish-brown shoots bare until the next spring.
The cones
are erect, ovoid, 1-2 cm (rarely 2.5 cm) long, with 15-25 moderately reflexed seed scales; they are green (rarely purple) when immature, turning brown and opening to release the seed
s when mature, 3–5 months after pollination. The old cones commonly remain on the tree for many years, turning dull grey-black.
:
The closely related Prince Rupprecht's Larch (Larix principis-rupprechtii) is treated as a fourth variety (L. gmelinii var. principis-rupprechtii) by many botanists; it occurs in a disjunct region in the Wutai Shan
mountains west of Beijing
, separated from typical L. gmelinii by about 1000 km, and differs in having larger (2-4 cm) cones with more scales.
Dahurian Larch intergrades with the closely related Siberian Larch
L. sibirica of central and western Siberia where their ranges meet along the Yenisei Valley; the resulting hybrid is named Larix × czekanowskii
.
The scientific name honours Johann Georg Gmelin
. Due to the species' variability, it has acquired numerous synonyms in the botanical literature, including L. cajanderi, L. dahurica, L. kamtschatica, L. komarovii, L. kurilensis, L. lubarskii, L. ochotensis.
Larix gmelinii forms enormous forests in the eastern Siberian taiga
, growing at 50-1,200 m altitude on both boggy and well-drained soils, including on the shallow soils above permafrost
. It is unique in two respects, being the northernmost tree in the world, reaching 72° 31' N at Lukunsky grove
(105° 03' E) and 72° 28' N at Ary-Mas
(102° 15' E) both in the Khatanga River
valley, and also the most cold-hardy tree in the world, tolerating temperatures below -70 °C in the Oymyakon
–Verkhoyansk
region of Yakutia. One tree in Yakutia was recorded as being 919 years old.
Dahurian Larch is occasionally grown in botanical gardens in Europe and North America; it is not an easy tree to grow in areas with mild winters as it is adapted to a long period of winter rest; the warm winter weather in Britain can tempt it into leaf as early as the start of January, with the tender young leaves then being killed by the next frost. In its native region, daily minimum temperatures above freezing do not occur until late May or June, with no further frost until the brief summer is over.
L. gmelinii cone scales are used as food by the caterpillar
s of the tortrix moth Cydia illutana
.
Larch
Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
native to eastern Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, and adjacent northeastern Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, northeastern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang
For the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
) and North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
.
Description
Larix gmelinii is a medium-sized deciduousDeciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
coniferous
Pinophyta
The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
reaching 10-30 m tall, rarely 40 m, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter. The crown is broad conic; both the main branches and the side branches are level, the side branches only rarely drooping. The shoots are dimorphic, with growth divided into long shoots (typically 5-30 cm long) and bearing several bud
Bud
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of the stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specialized to develop flowers or short shoots, or may have...
s, and short shoots only 1-2 mm long with only a single bud. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are needle-like, light green, 2-3 cm long; they turn bright yellow to orange before they fall in the autumn, leaving the variably downy reddish-brown shoots bare until the next spring.
The cones
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
are erect, ovoid, 1-2 cm (rarely 2.5 cm) long, with 15-25 moderately reflexed seed scales; they are green (rarely purple) when immature, turning brown and opening to release the seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s when mature, 3–5 months after pollination. The old cones commonly remain on the tree for many years, turning dull grey-black.
Taxonomy and systematics
There are three varietiesVariety (biology)
In botanical nomenclature, variety is a taxonomic rank below that of species: as such, it gets a three-part infraspecific name....
:
- Larix gmelinii var. gmelinii. Most of the species' range, from the Yenisei Valley east to Kamchatka.
- Larix gmelinii var. japonica. The Kuril IslandsKuril IslandsThe Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
and SakhalinSakhalinSakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
(both formerly JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese territory). - Larix gmelinii var. olgensis. North Korea, HeilongjiangHeilongjiangFor the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
, and the Sikhote-AlinSikhote-AlinThe Sikhote-Alin is a mountain range in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Russia, extending about 900 km to the northeast of the Russian Pacific seaport of Vladivostok...
mountains of Primorsky KraiPrimorsky KraiPrimorsky Krai , informally known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province or Maritime Territory. Its administrative center is in the city of Vladivostok...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Sometimes treated as a distinct species Larix olgensis.
The closely related Prince Rupprecht's Larch (Larix principis-rupprechtii) is treated as a fourth variety (L. gmelinii var. principis-rupprechtii) by many botanists; it occurs in a disjunct region in the Wutai Shan
Wutai Shan
Mount Wutai , also known as Wutai Mountain or Qingliang Shan, is located in Shanxi, China. The mountain is home to many of China's most important monasteries and temples...
mountains west of Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, separated from typical L. gmelinii by about 1000 km, and differs in having larger (2-4 cm) cones with more scales.
Dahurian Larch intergrades with the closely related Siberian Larch
Siberian Larch
The Siberian Larch or Russian Larch is a frost-hardy tree native to western Russia, from close to the Finnish border east to the Yenisei valley in central Siberia, where it hybridises with the Dahurian Larch L...
L. sibirica of central and western Siberia where their ranges meet along the Yenisei Valley; the resulting hybrid is named Larix × czekanowskii
Larix × czekanowskii
Larix × czekanowskii is a larch hybrid, between Siberian Larch Larix sibirica and Dahurian Larch Larix gmelinii.-Description:Larix × czekanowskii occurs where their ranges meet in central Siberia. It is intermediate between its parent species in all characters....
.
The scientific name honours Johann Georg Gmelin
Johann Georg Gmelin
Johann Georg Gmelin was a German naturalist, botanist and geographer.- Early life and education :Gmelin was born in Tübingen, the son of an professor at the University of Tübingen. He was a gifted child and begun attending university lectures at the age of 14. In 1727, he graduated with a medical...
. Due to the species' variability, it has acquired numerous synonyms in the botanical literature, including L. cajanderi, L. dahurica, L. kamtschatica, L. komarovii, L. kurilensis, L. lubarskii, L. ochotensis.
Ecology and uses
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
, growing at 50-1,200 m altitude on both boggy and well-drained soils, including on the shallow soils above permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...
. It is unique in two respects, being the northernmost tree in the world, reaching 72° 31' N at Lukunsky grove
Lukunsky grove
The Lukunsky grove is a forest in Russia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, southern bank of Lukunsk River, to the south from Khatanga River.It is the northernmost forest extension in the world. Ary-Mas to the west from Lukunsky grove is the northernmost isolated forest island, though located approximately 6...
(105° 03' E) and 72° 28' N at Ary-Mas
Ary-Mas
Ary-Mas is a forest in Russia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, southern part of Taymyr Peninsula, southern bank of Novaya River. Ary-Mas from Dolgan language - forest island....
(102° 15' E) both in the Khatanga River
Khatanga River
The Khatanga River is a river in Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia. It begins at the confluence of the rivers Kotuy and Kheta. The Khatanga River is long; the area of its basin is 364,000 km². It flows into the Khatanga Gulf of the Laptev Sea, forming an estuary...
valley, and also the most cold-hardy tree in the world, tolerating temperatures below -70 °C in the Oymyakon
Oymyakon
Oymyakon is a village in Oymyakonsky Ulus of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located along the Indigirka River, 30 kilometres northwest of Tomtor on the Kolyma Highway.-Geography:...
–Verkhoyansk
Verkhoyansk
Verkhoyansk is a town in Verkhoyansky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, situated on the Yana River, near the Arctic Circle, from Yakutsk. Population: There is a river port, an airport, a fur-collecting depot, and the center of a reindeer-raising area....
region of Yakutia. One tree in Yakutia was recorded as being 919 years old.
Dahurian Larch is occasionally grown in botanical gardens in Europe and North America; it is not an easy tree to grow in areas with mild winters as it is adapted to a long period of winter rest; the warm winter weather in Britain can tempt it into leaf as early as the start of January, with the tender young leaves then being killed by the next frost. In its native region, daily minimum temperatures above freezing do not occur until late May or June, with no further frost until the brief summer is over.
- See also List of Lepidoptera that feed on larches
L. gmelinii cone scales are used as food by the caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s of the tortrix moth Cydia illutana
Cydia illutana
Cydia illutana is a small moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found from Western and Central Europe , north to Scandinavia and east to Russia ....
.