| Sikkim Larch | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Larix |
| Species: | L. griffithii |
| Binomial name | |
| Larix griffithii Hook.f. |
|
Sikkim Larch (Larix griffithii) is a species of larch, native to the eastern Himalaya in eastern Nepal, Sikkim, western Bhutan and southwestern China (Xizang), growing at 3000-4100 m altitude.
It is a medium-sized deciduous coniferous tree reaching 20-25 m tall, with a trunk up to 0.8 m 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 10-50 cm long) and bearing several buds, and short shoots only 1-2 mm long with only a single bud. The leaves are needle-like, light glaucous green, 2-4 cm 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, 4-7.5 cm 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.
It is sometimes called the Himalayan Larch, not to be confused with Larix himalaica, which is generally known as the Langtang Larch. Synonyms 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 recently been separated as Larix kongboensis (Mill 1999); they differ in smaller cones 3-5 cm long. This taxon has been accepted by the Flora of China but not widely elsewhere.