European larch

Larix decidua is a medium-size to large deciduous coniferous tree reaching 25–45 metres (82–148 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 1.5 metres (5 ft) diameter (exceptionally, to 53.8 metres (176 ft 6 in) and 11.20 m girth (3.56 m diameter). The crown is conic when young, becoming broad and often irregular with age; the main branches are level to upswept, with the side branches often pendulous. The shoots are dimorphic, with growth divided into long shoots (typically 10–50 cm (4–20 in) 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, 2–4 centimetres (3⁄4–1+5⁄8 in) long which turn bright yellow before they fall in the autumn, leaving the pale yellow-buff shoots bare until the next spring. The cones are erect, ovoid-conic, 2–6 centimetres (3⁄4–2+3⁄8 in) long, with 10-90 erect or slightly incurved (not reflexed) seed scales; they are bright pinkish-red at pollination, then green variably flushed red to purplish when immature, and turn brown and opening to release the seeds when mature, 4–6 months after pollination. …

The seeds are an important food for some birds, notably siskin, redpoll, and citril finch, while the buds and immature cones are eaten by capercaillie. Larch needles (including L. decidua and L. sibirica) are the only known food for caterpillars of the case-bearer moth Coleophora sibiricella; its cone scales are used as food by the caterpillars of the tortrix moth Cydia illutana. It is susceptible to larch canker Lachnellula willkommii.

The wood is tough and durable, but also flexible in thin strips, and is particularly valued for yacht building; wood used for this, known as 'boatskin larch', 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. Because of its fast juvenile growth and its pioneer character, larch has found numerous applications in forestry and agroforestry. It is used as a 'preparatory species' to afforest open land, abandoned farmland or disturbed land, and as a 'nurse species' prior to the introduction of more demanding species.

Larix decidua is widely cultivated as an ornamental tree for planting in gardens and parks. It was first cultivated in Britain in or shortly before 1629. John Evelyn encouraged its wider planting and use. Three successive Dukes of Atholl planted it widely and the fourth Duke wrote "Observations on Larch" in 1807 further encouraged its cultivation, which he practiced on a large scale. One of the larches planted by the second Duke of Atholl at Dunkeld in 1737 is still standing, as are two slightly older specimens planted in 1725 at Kailzie, near Peebles in southern Scotland. European larch is now widely naturalised in northern Europe, including Britain, Scandinavia, and in Germany north of its native range. It is also widely cultivated in southern Canada and the northeastern United States, and is naturalised in Maine, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island. In the northern Appalachian Mountains it is often used for the reforestation of surface mines. European larch can grow on drier soils and tolerate warmer climates than tamarack (Larix laricina) or Siberian larch (Larix sibirica), being better suited to non-boreal climates.

Hybrids. European larch readily hybridises with Japanese larch L. kaempferi when the two are planted together; the hybrid, named Dunkeld larch or hybrid larch (Larix × marschlinsii Coaz, syn. L. …