Larix griffithii
{{Short description|Species of conifer}}
{{italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Sikkim larch
| image = 107 Larix griffithii, Chelela to Paro, Bhutan.jpg
| image_caption = Larix griffithii between Chelela and Paro, Bhutan
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Larix
| species = griffithii
| authority = Hook.f.
| synonyms = Pinus griffithii {{small|(Hook.f.) Parl.}}
}}
Larix griffithii, the Sikkim larch, is a species of larch, native to the eastern Himalaya in easternmost Nepal, Sikkim, western Bhutan, and (in some interpretations) southwestern China (Xizang, Yunnan). It grows at {{convert|1800|-|4100|m}} in altitude.
It is sometimes called the Himalayan larch, not to be confused with Larix potaninii var. himalaica, which is generally known as the 'Langtang larch'.
Description
It is a medium-sized deciduous coniferous tree reaching {{convert|20|-|25|m|0|abbr=on}} tall, with a trunk up to {{convert|0.8|m|0|abbr=on}} in diameter. The crown is slender conic; the main branches are level to upswept, the side branchlets pendulous from them. The shoots are dimorphic, with growth divided into long shoots (typically {{convert|10|-|50|cm|0|abbr=on}} long) and bearing several buds, and short shoots only {{convert|1|-|2|mm|abbr=on}} long with only a single bud. The leaves are needle-like, light glaucous green, {{convert|2|-|4|cm|0|abbr=on}} long; they turn bright yellow to orange before they fall in the autumn, leaving the pale yellow-brown shoots bare until the next spring.
The cones are erect, ovoid-conic, {{convert|4|-|7.5|cm|0|abbr=on}} long, with 50-100 seed scales, each seed scale with a long exserted and reflexed basal bract; they are dark purple when immature, turning dark brown and opening to release the seeds when mature, 5–7 months after pollination. The old cones commonly remain on the tree for many years, turning dull grey-black.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=210000965 Flora of China: Larix griffithii]
Taxonomy
Two varieties are accepted by Kew's Plants of the World Online;{{cite web |title=Larix griffithii Hook.f. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:50922021-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |access-date=6 January 2022 |language=en}} these are regarded as separate species by many other authors, including the Flora of China:
- Larix griffithii var. griffithii. Himalaya in the far east of Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan.
- Larix griffithii var. speciosa {{small|(W.C.Cheng & Y.W.Law) Farjon}}. Disjunct, in Yunnan. Treated as Larix speciosa {{small|W.C.Cheng & Y.W.Law}} by the Flora of China.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200005294 Flora of China: Larix speciosa]
Synonyms of L. griffithii include Abies griffithiana J. D. Hooker ex Lindley & Gordon and Larix griffithiana hort. ex Carrière.
Trees to the northeast of the range in eastern Bhutan and Xizang have been separated as Larix kongboensis (Mill 1999); they differ in smaller cones {{convert|3|-|5|cm|0|abbr=on}} long. This species has been accepted by the Flora of China but not by POWO.{{cite journal|first=Robert |last=Mill |year=1999 |title=A New Species of Larix (Pinaceae) from Southeast Tibet and Other Nomenclatural Notes on Chinese Larix |journal=Novon |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=79–82 |url=http://www.fna.org/china/novon/mill2-9-1.html |doi=10.2307/3392124 |jstor=3392124 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927234821/http://www.fna.org/china/novon/mill2-9-1.html |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }}[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=210000966 Flora of China: Larix kongboensis]
References and external links
{{Reflist}}{{Commons category}}
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