Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carrière

Japanese larch (en), Mélèze du japon (fr), Mélèze du Japon (fr)

Species

Gymnosperms > Pinales > Pinaceae > Larix

Characteristics

Trees to 35(-40) m tall; trunk to 1.5 m d.b.h.; crown broadly pyramidal, dense; long branchlets light yellow or light reddish brown, glaucous, initially pale brownish pub-escent, turningglabrous and grayish brown or blackish brown in 2nd year; short branchlets bearing rings of scale remnants; leaf cushions sparsely pilose. Leaves linear-oblanceolate, 1-2.5 cm × 0.7-1.1mm, inconspicuously keeled abaxially, apex obtuse. Seed cones terminal, violet, maturing orange-brown tinged with purple, finally gray-brown, ovoid-globose, 1.5-3.5 × 1.5-2.5 cm. Seedscales 30-40, suborbicular, 1-1.3 × 1-1.3 cm, glabrous, margin sometimes undulate, apex entire or emarginate, usually strongly recurved. Bracts included, ligulate, ca. 1/2 as long as seed scales. Seeds brownish white mottled with red, ovoid-cuneate, slightly flattened, ca. 4 × 3 mm; wing reddish yellow tinged with brown, ovate-oblong, ca. 8 × 4 mm.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality
Pollination anemogamy
Spread anemochory
Mature width (meter) 4.0 - 8.0
Mature height (meter) 32.45
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 0.85
Root diameter (meter) 0.6
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Mountains in C. Japan.
Light 6-8
Soil humidity 4-6
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 4-7

Usage

Uses environmental use material medicinal wood
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings. Seeds needs stratification.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 11 - 13
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment stratification
Minimum temperature (C°) -30
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Larix kaempferi habit picture by soffie (cc-by-sa)
Larix kaempferi habit picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)
Larix kaempferi habit picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Larix kaempferi leaf picture by Véronique duquennoy (cc-by-sa)
Larix kaempferi leaf picture by Sabina Hartmann (cc-by-sa)
Larix kaempferi leaf picture by Sabina Hartmann (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Larix kaempferi fruit picture by Udo Herkommer (cc-by-sa)
Larix kaempferi fruit picture by Francois Mansour (cc-by-sa)
Larix kaempferi fruit picture by John Thompson (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Larix kaempferi world distribution map, present in Canada, China, France, and United States of America

Conservation status

Larix kaempferi threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60457419-2
WFO ID wfo-0000443374
COL ID 6NYW7
BDTFX ID 37696
INPN ID 105044
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Larix kaempferi f. rubescens Larix leptolepis f. minor Pinus japonica Abies leptolepis Laricopsis kaempferi Pseudolarix kaempferi Larix japonica Larix japonica Larix leptolepis Pinus leptolepis Pinus nummularia Abies kaempferi Larix orientalis Pinus kaempferi Larix kaempferi var. rubescens Larix leptolepis var. louchanensis Larix leptolepis var. murrayana Larix leptolepis var. minor Larix kaempferi var. pendula Larix leptolepis f. pendula Larix kaempferi f. pendula Larix kaempferi