2350

ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

Genus IV.

LA'RIX Tourn. The Larch. Lin. Syst. Monoe'cia Monadelphia.

Identification. Tourn. Inst., 586.; Bauh. Pin., 493. j Bellon. Arb. Conif., p. 23. 25.; Tab. Icon.,940.

Synonymes. Plnus of Lin. and others ; A^bies Rich. ; Mel&ze, Fr.; Lerchenbaum, Ger.; Laricio,Ital.

Derivation. From lar, fat, Celtic ; the tree producing abundance of resin.

Description. Deciduous trees, some of them of large dimensions; nativesof the mountainous regions of Europe, the west of Asia, and of NorthAmerica; highly valued for the great durability of their timber. The com-mon larch is found extensively on the alpine districts of the south of Ger-many, Switzerland, Sardinia, and Italy ; but not on the Pyrenees, nor in Spain.The Russian larch ( L. e. sibirica) is found throughout the greater part ofRussia and Siberia, where it forms a tree generally inferior in size to L.europae'a. The black, or weeping, larch (L. americana pendula) is a slendertree, found in the central districts of the United States ; and the red larch(L. americana rubra), also a slender tree, is found in Lower Canada andLabrador. In Britain, all the species are ornamental; but the first is theonly one at all deserving of culture as a timber tree. Much more experiencehaving been gained in Scotland respecting the larch than in England, andmore by Mr. Gorrie than by any man in Scotland that we know, we have sub-mitted the whole of our article upon the larch to him, and he has kindly sentus some notes and comments, which will be found in their proper places.

31 1 . L. Europe' A Dec. The European, or common, Larch.Identification. De Cand. FI. Fr., No. 2064.

Synonymes. Pinus Lk rix Lin. Sp. PL, 1420., Syst., ed. Reich., 4. p. 175., Willd. Sp. Pi., 4. p. 503.,Hunt. Evel. Syl., p. 267., Trew in Nov. Act. A. N. C., App., 3. t. 13., Pall. Ross., 1. p. 1., Pall.Itin., 1. p. 451. and 2. p. 127., Allion FI. Ped., 2. p. 178., Viu. Dauph., 3. p. 807.; Ait. Hort. Kew.,ed. 1., 3. p. 369., Willd. Berl. Baumz., p. 210., Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., t. 48., Hall. Helv., No. J158.,Du Roi Harbk., ed. Pott., 2. p. 85., Reitter und Abel. Abbild., t. 96., Willd. Baum., p. 274., HayneDend., p. 175., Hayne Abbild., p. 211., Hbss Anleit., p. 15.; ,4'bies Lin. Hort. Cliff., 450., Gmel.Sib., 1. p. 176.; Li irix decidua Mill. Diet., No. 1.; Zdrix fblio decfduo, &c. Bauh. Hist., 1. p. 265.,Hort. Angl., p. 43., Du Ham. Arb., 1. p. 332., Tourn. Inst., p. 586.; Lilrix Bauh. Pin., p. 493.,Dod. Pempt., p. 868., Cam. Epit ., 45, 46.; ^4'bi.es L&rix Lam. Illust., t. 785. f. 2., Poir. Diet., 6.p. 571., N. Du Ham., 5. p. 287. t. 7961., Rich. Mem. sur les Conif., p. 65., Lindl. in Penn. Cyc., 1.,p. 32.; Meldze commune, Fr. ; Lorche, Lorcher-Fichle, gemeiner Lerchenbaum, Terbentin-baum, Europaische Ceder, weisser Lerchenbaum, Ger.

Engravings. Nov. Act. A. N. C., App., 3. t. 13. f. 8. 28.; Pall. Ross., 1. 1. 1.; Ludw., &c., t. 86.;Blackw., t. 477. ; Wood. Med. Bot., t. 210.; Reitt. and Abel. Abbild., t. 96. ; Du Ham. Arb., 1.t. 1.; Hayne Abbild., t. 154.; N. Du Ham., 5. t. 79., f. 1.; Lamb. Pin., ed. 2., 2. t. 48.; ourfig. 2258.; and the plates of this tree in our last Volume.

Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves fascicled, deciduous. Cones ovate-oblong; scalesreflexed at the margin, lacerate; bracteoles panduriform. (Willd.') Leaveslinear, soft, 1 in. long. Cone from 1 in. to 1 a in. long, erect. A tail pyra-midal tree, a native of the alps of the south of Europe; in cultivation inBritain since 1629; flowering in March or April.

Varieties. All the larches in cultivation are, probably, only different forms ofthe same species; but, as the American larches, which have small fruit,come tolerably true from seed, we shall treat them as one species, and theEuropean larch as another. The latter is characterised by large cones,rapid growth, and robust habit; and the former by small cones, slow growth,and slender habit.

T L. c. 1 communis Laws. Man., p. 386., the common European Larch,has branches “ aspiring towards their points ; branchlets very nume-rous, and forming a dense conical or pyramidal top; foliage of alight grassy or vivid green, and bark rather more rugged than thatof L. e. 2 iaxa.”