Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Prestigious Plants - Gymnosperms - Conifers 05 - Larch

Plant Indices

LARCH (Larix)
Family: Pinaceae

Larix decidua, Aletschwald, Switzerland.
From Sciadopitys on Flickr.

Names: 

  • Larch
  • Alerche [Romansh]
  • Arbre À Semelles [French]
  • Árbol De Los Alpes [Spanish]
  • Árvore De Dezembro [Portuguese]
  • Cembrot [French]
  • Hackmatack
  • Jättelärk [Swedish]
  • Karamatsu [Japanese]
  • Larice [Italian]
  • Lariço [Portuguese]
  • Lärchenbaum [German]
  • Lärche [German]
  • Larix [French/Polish]
  • Lehtikuusi [Finnish]
  • Lenga [Manchu]
  • Lerche [Danish]
  • Lerke [Danish]
  • Lerki [Norwegian]
  • Listvennitsa [Russian]
  • Macese [Romanian]
  • Macesen [Slovenian]
  • Mélèze [French]
  • Modřín [Czech]
  • Modrina [Slovak]
  • Modrzew [Polish]
  • Pijnboom [Dutch]
  • Sekvojovec [Slovak]
  • Sibirski Ariš [Croatian]
  • Tamarack
  • Venet [Albanian]
  • Vestergren [Swedish]

Physical Description
Larches are medium-sized to large deciduous trees, generally growing between 20-45m (65-150ft) in height. Larches stand out among the conifers, which are almost always evergreen.

Larches are present in all temperate-cold zones of the northern hemisphere and have the furthest range north of any trees. In the southern latitudes, they are found high in the mountains; further north, they are found in lowland forests.

Larch wood is tough, durable, waterproof, and highly fire-resistant. According to Skinner, a ship of larch was drowned in twelve fathoms of water, and upon being raised to the surface and dried, they found that they could not get the wood to ignite by any means.

Wood Properties: Tough, durable, strong, waterproof, rot-resistant, fire-resistant, fumigant.

Symbolism

Axis Mundi
The larch was commonly the World Tree in Eurasian/Siberian pagan belief.

Immortality
Like many pines, larch is a symbol of immortality, and as such, it also has funerary and rebirth symbolism. 

Victorian Flower Language
Greenaway identifies the larch as a symbol of audacity and boldness, likely informed by Vitruvius’s story about Caesar.

Caesar at Larignum
Vitruvius credits Caesar with the discovery of the wood during his expeditions in the Alps when the emperor’s army found resistance at a settlement called Larignum. The locals had a fortress tower made of interlocking wooden logs, effectively a castle of Lincoln logs, built high so that the defenders could throw weighted stakes and rocks upon the legionaries. Seeing that the range of the projectiles was short, the Romans ran up and threw bundles and brushwood against the base of the tower and hurled torches to light them. Despite their best efforts, however, the tower walls were proof against fire. Caesar instead chose to barricade them in with palisades, and the defenders surrendered. On accepting their surrender, he inquired about the wood, and the locals pointed to the relevant trees, which grew in abundance. Caesar named the tree after the stronghold of Laringinum: the larch.

(This story is probably apocryphal.)

Culture

Timber
The wood of the larch is prized for its hardness, durability, and resistance to burning. Used in all manner of construction, from buildings to boats. 

Larch wood exhibits rot resistance in contact with the ground, making it desirable for all manner of uses, including building posts and fencing. Larch wood was even used for the piles that support the city of Venice. This resistance is limited to temperate environments only unless the wood undergoes further treatment.

Magic

Snake Repellant Fumigant
Skinner tells us, “Have a larch about the house, for when burned, it disturbs snakes.” This may mean that the smoke of the larch agitates actual snakes, or it could mean something more abstract, such as thieves or evil spirits (it’s hard to tell with Skinner).

Medical
We are not a medical website; do not take health advice from us.

Larch Gum
Skinner claims that the sap of the larch is eaten as a manna by the French and Americans alike. The only corroborating information this compiler can find refers to the tamarack gum produced by the Larix laricina, a North American species outside the range of our research. However, Skinner goes on to contend that this sap “was also used by witches, along with the blood of basilisks, the skin of vipers, the feathers of the phoenix, the scales of salamanders, and other commodities that were commoner once than they are today, in the dreadful stews which were boiled at midnight as a preliminary to cursing the neighborhood.” 

(Because our source on arabinogalactan (larch gum) mentions no history of use or regional names, we regard the historicity of this magical relationship as apocryphal. However, we are not above including it for future exploitation or correction.)

Larch gum from Larix sibirica.

Compiler Notes

  • Larch’s snake-repellent properties might make it a good wood for those who must deal with deceivers of all sorts. A staff of larch might make a good charm against con men and hustlers for travelers, and a throne or table of larch may work well for a ruler to suss-out liars. Similarly, employing larch as the fuel for fire acts on this anti-snake virtue more dramatically, with the heat of hospitality pressing uncomfortably on the liars’ skin and embittering the food cooked over that fire.
  • Is larch gum employed as a thickener in the spell-stew described by Skinner or as a spice?
  • Repellent power can be leveraged into dominating power. A malevolent magician might employ larch to command and coerce serpents.
  • The larch's rot resistance relative to its contact with the earth raises many possibilities about its use in less-than-desirable magical action. A nominally "good" magician might employ instruments of larch wood when he feels he must perform unsavory magical workings out of a sense of necessity, the wood acting as a buffer against the corrupting power of the spell. Similarly, an evil magician might employ larch wood for his instruments to prevent himself from being corrupted by his own workings.
  • As above, larch wood can be used as an effective buffer for sanctified instruments or devices in corrupted places. A mobile altar might be permitted to rest upon the ground through a larch wood support, as the corruption will not pass to it through it, preserving the ritual purity of the device.
  • Larch as a component in shield production might make it more efficacious against monstrous serpents or, more practically, against spears (which are often characterized in tales as serpents).
  • Larch clogs or stilts might be employed to cross places of supernatural rot.
  • Three crossed larch poles might be employed as a barrier against serpents, natural and monstrous, as a mobile magical fence.

Image Refs

[Img 01 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Larix_decidua_Aletschwald.jpg ]

[Img 02 - https://i.etsystatic.com/27632479/r/il/6f3ea1/3101088258/il_fullxfull.3101088258_43ol.jpg ]

Larix decidua, l'A Bran, Vald/Anniviers.
Own work -- Dominicus Johannes Bergsma.

Names: 

  • European Larch
  • Alerce Europeo [Spanish]
  • Alpine Larch
  • Ariš [Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian/Slovene]
  • Arze [Albanian]
  • Bělokor [Czech]
  • Brestovec [Slovak]
  • Common Larch
  • Europæisk Lærk [Danish]
  • Europäische Lärche [German]
  • Europeisk Lärk [Swedish]
  • Europeisk Lerk [Norwegian]
  • Europese Lariks [Dutch]
  • Europos Maumedis [Lithuanian]
  • Europska Macesen [Slovenian]
  • Euroopan Lehtikuusi [Finnish]
  • Evropská Modřín [Czech]
  • Fir Learach [Irish]
  • Lærketre [Norwegian]
  • Lärche [German]
  • Larice [Italian]
  • Larice Europeo [Italian]
  • Lariço Europeu [Portuguese]
  • Le Mélèze [French]
  • Lenga [Manchu]
  • Macese [Romanian]
  • Macese European [Romanian]
  • Mélèze d'Europe [French]
  • Modřín Opadavý [Czech]
  • Modrzew Europejski [Polish]
  • Sibirski Ariš [Croatian]
  • Sibírsky Smrekovec [Slovak]
  • Tamarack
  • Venet I Evropes [Albanian]
  • Visakoinen Lehtikuusi [Finnish]

Distribution: 

  • Europe, Central: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland
  • Europe, Eastern: Romania, Ukraine
  • Europe, Southern: Italy
  • Europe, Western: France

Biome: Alpine in Central Europe, lowland in Poland and Lithuania

Physical Description
The European larch is a large deciduous tree 25-45m (82-148ft) and 1m in diameter, with some exceptional examples reaching more than 53m (174ft) tall and 3.5m (11.5ft) in diameter. These trees can live up to 1000 years, with some claims up to 2000; generally, however, they live to be about 200 years old.

It is most abundant at altitudes of 1,000-2,000m (3,300-6,600ft), occasionally as high as 2,400m (7,900ft). This tree is highly cold tolerant, able to survive temperatures down to -50 °C and lower.

Siskin eating seeds from Larix decidua cones.
Little Yellow Bird, by Hirn Fusseln.

Wood Properties:  Tough, durable, strong, waterproof, rot-resistant, fire-resistant, fumigant, flexible.

Culture

Fence-Building
Small larch poles are used for fence posts.

Yacht-Building
Known for being tough and durable, it’s also flexible when stripped thin, which is why it is prized in the building of yachts. Yacht-quality wood must be free of knots, which requires the use of old, cultivated trees that were pruned of side branches at a young age.


Compiler Notes

  • Retained for names and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 03 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:L%27A_de_Bran,_(1798_m)_Val_d%27Anniviers._Europese_larix_(Larix_decidua)_01.JPG ]

[Img 04 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Siskin_eating_European_Larch_seeds_(27476733).jpg ]

Larix gmelinii forest in autumn.
From Jinfeng Zhang at Dreamstime.

Names: 

  • Dahurian Larch
  • Amur Larch
  • Dahurische Lärche [German]
  • Dahurische Lærk [Danish]
  • Gmelin's Larch
  • Gmelinova Ariš [Croatian]
  • Kurilský Modřín [Czech]
  • Listvennitsa Gmelin [Russian]
  • Mélèze de Dahurie [French]
  • Mélèze de Gmelin [French]
  • Prince Rupprecht's Larch
  • Sibirisk Lærk [Danish]

Distribution: 

  • Asia, East: China (China North-Central, China Southeast, Inner Mongolia), Korea, Mongolia
  • Asia, Northern: Russia (Amur, Buryatiya, Chita, Irkutsk, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Kuril Is., Magadan, Primorye, Sakhalin, Yakutskiya)

Physical Description
Dahurian larch is a medium-sized deciduous tree 10-30m (33-98ft) tall, sometimes even up to 40m (131ft), with a trunk up to 1 m in diameter.

These are the most cold-hardy trees in the world, tolerating temperatures below -70 Celsius, as seen in the Yakutia specimens (one of which is dated as being over 900 years old).

Compiler Notes

  • Retained for name and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 05 - https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photography-autumnal-dahurian-larch-image27023812 ]

Larix kaempferi.
Presumably by Karl von Hammel.

Names: 

  • Japanese Larch
  • Cāukoku [Latvian]
  • Dahurische Lärche [German]
  • Dahurian Larch
  • Fuji Matsu [Japanese]
  • Gājas Lapegle [Latvian]
  • Giappone Melezi [Turkish]
  • Japanin Lehtikuusi [Finnish]
  • Japanische Lärche [German]
  • Japansk Lærk [Danish]
  • Japansk Lärk [Swedish]
  • Japanse Lariks [Dutch]
  • Kaempfer's Larch
  • Karamatsu [Japanese]
  • Larice Del Giappone [Italian]
  • Mélèze Du Japon [French]
  • Modřín Japonský [Czech]
  • Modrzew Japoński [Polish]
  • Nihon Karamatsu [Japanese]
  • Nippon Karamatsu [Japanese]
  • Pin Du Japon [French]
  • Rakuyo Matsu [Japanese]

Distribution: 

  • Asia, East: Japan

Biome: Alpine, mountains of the Chūbu and Kantō in central Honshū.

Physical Description
Karamatsu is a medium to large deciduous tree 20-40m (66-131ft) tall, with a trunk up to 1m in diameter. Its old, spent cones often remain on the tree for years.  Grows up to altitudes of 2,900m (9,500ft) on well-drained soils. It does not do well in waterlogged ground.

Young female cone, Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Own work -- William 'Ned' Friedman.

Compiler Notes

  • Retained for name and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 06 - https://www.von-hammel.de/sortiment/nadelgehoelze/larix-laerche/larix-kaempferi/ ]

[Img 07 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Larix_kaempferi_female_cone_2.jpg ]

Larix sibirica, Jardin botanique de Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
Own work (presumably) -- Montréalais.

Names: 

  • Siberian Larch
  • Altai Larch
  • Arë Siberiane [Albanian]
  • Duglere Sibiryası [Turkish]
  • Listvennitsa Sibirskaya [Russian]
  • Mélèze de Sibérie [French]
  • Modřín Sibiřský [Czech]
  • Mongolian Larch
  • Russian Larch
  • Sibirische Lärche [German]
  • Sibirisk Lærk [Danish]
  • Sibirisk Lärk [Swedish]
  • Sibirská Smrekovcová [Slovak]
  • Sibirski Ariš [Croatian]
  • Sibirski Macesen [Slovenian]
  • Sibirya Melezi [Turkish]
  • Siperianlehtikuusi [Finnish]
  • Western Siberian Larch

Distribution: 

  • Asia, Central: Mongolia
  • Asia, East: China (Xinjiang)
  • Asia, Northern: Russia (Altay, East European Russia, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, North European Russia, Tuva, West Siberia, Yakutskiya)

Physical Description
The Siberian larch is a medium to large deciduous tree reaching 20-50m (66-164ft) tall, with a trunk up to 1m in diameter. Grows faster than other trees in cold climates but requires full sunlight.

It is common for old cones to remain on this tree for years, changing from red-flushed yellow in youth to brown in maturity and dull grey-black after dispersing seeds.

Young female cone, Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Own work -- William 'Ned' Friedman.

Culture

Timber
Rot-resistant wood is desired for posts, poles, railroads, and mine props. 

Medical
We are not a medical website; do not take health advice from us.

Resin Gum
Larch gum from these trees is harvested and sold within Russia as a natural chewing gum. This is placed in medical, as sugar-free natural gums are great for dental health.


Compiler Notes

  • Retained for names and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 08 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Siberian-larch.jpg ]

[Img 09 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Larix_sibirica_female_cone.jpg ]

* * * * * * *

See Also:

* * * * * * *

-Drury, N. (2004). The dictionary of the esoteric: 3000 entries on the mystical and occult traditions. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. 

-Drury, N. (2005). The Watkins Dictionary of Magic: 3000 entries on the magical traditions. Watkins. 

-Greenaway, Kate. Language of Flowers. George Routleage and Sons. 

-Skinner, Charles M. “Myths and Legends of Flowers, Trees, Fruits, and Plants : In All Ages and in All Climes : Skinner, Charles M. (Charles Montgomery), 1852-1907 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott Co., 1 Jan. 1970, https://archive.org/details/mythslegendsoffl00skin. 

-Tresidder, J. (2008). The Watkins Dictionary of Symbols. Watkins. 

( https://powo.science.kew.org/ )
( https://www.secretflowerlanguage.com/ ) — Defunct
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabinogalactan )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larch )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larix_decidua )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larix_gmelinii )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larix_kaempferi )
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larix_sibirica )


Name assistance provided by Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

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