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Western larch
Larix occidentalis
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 Like all larches, it loses its needles in the autumn. This large, handsome tree can
grow to 80 metres tall and 850 years of age.
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Leaves
New needles are soft green, turning golden yellow in the fall, and broadly
triangular in cross section. They are long, clustered in bunches of 15 to 30 on stubby,
woody projections which remain on the twig after the needles fall.Cones
Seed cones are elongated and red to reddish-brown. The scales have white
hairs on the lower surface and prominent, long slender bracts. Pollen cones are yellow. |
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Bark
Mature trees develop thick, grooved plate-like bark with cinnamon-coloured
scales (similar to ponderosa pine bark).Where
to find western larch
It grows in valleys and on the lower slopes of mountains in the southern
Interior. |
Habitat
Western larch usually grows in mixed forests but can occasionally be found
in pure groups of trees after a severe wildfire. It demands full sunlight and grows well
on fire-blackened soil. Fire releases nutrients which it uses to grow faster than its
companion species. Low temperatures limit the distribution of western larch. It is
quite sensitive to frost damage because it continues to grow from bud-burst in spring
through to September; most evergreen conifers stop growing in mid-July. |
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Uses
Aboriginal people seldom used western larch wood; however, they mixed the
dried pitch with grease and used it as a cosmetic. Dried powdered pitch was also an
ingredient of a red paint applied to wood or buckskin. The wood of
western larch is one of the strongest in Canada. It is often used in heavy construction
and for railway ties and pilings. |
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Notes
The thick bark of mature western larch and its habit of shedding lower
branches make this species resistant to fire. |
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