Larix decidua
Sponsor
Kindly sponsored by
Philip & Emma Mackenzie
Credits
Tom Christian (2026)
Recommended citation
Christian, T. (2026), 'Larix decidua' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Common Names
- Common Larch
- European Larch
- Mélèze d'Europe
- Larice Comune
- Gemeine Lärche
- Europäische Lärche
Synonyms
- Larix caducifolia Gilib.
- Larix communis Lindl.
- Larix decidua subsp. europaea (DC.) Domin
- Larix europaea DC.
- Larix europaea var. multicaulis R.I.Schröd. ex Beissn.
- Larix europaea var. pendula P.Lawson
- Larix excelsa Link
- Larix gracilis A.Dietr.
- Larix larix (L.) H.Karst.
- Larix pyramidalis Salisb.
- Larix sudetica Domin
- Larix vulgaris Fisch. ex Spach
Infraspecifics
Tree 30–55 m tall, 1–2(–2.7) m dbh, bole often slightly flared. Bark on young trees dark reddish-brown, becoming paler, thicker and rugged after a few years, thick and deeply fissured in old trees. Crown narrowly pyramidal at first, later columnar, finally irregular, often developing one to several massive branches frequently bearing new vertical ‘stems’ near their tips. First order branches slender at first, curving upward toward the tips, soon thickening, a proportion becoming large and heavy. Second order branches long, slender, somewhat pendulous in old trees. Long shoots thin, flexible, pinkish-yellow, darker through the first winter, glabrous or weakly pubescent at first; short shoots firm, smooth, buff, usually glabrous. Vegetative buds ovoid, 3 × 2 mm, not resinous. Leaves on long shoots sparse, appressed to shoot or spreading to c. 45°; leaves on short shoots borne in pseudowhorls of 30–40, these leaves narrowly linear, 2.3–3.5(–4) cm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, apex obtuse or subacute, keeled with two faint, narrow stomatal bands below. Pollen cones 5–10 mm long, scale margins fimbriate, reddish at first. Seed cones ovoid to ovoid-oblong, apex obtuse, 2.5–4.5 cm long, 1.5–3 cm wide at maturity (smaller in the varieties), dark red to bright green at first, ripening through pale green to yellowish to brown, old cones grey; peduncles 5–10 mm long. Seed scales 25–35 per cone, ovate to suborbicular, convex, 7–15 × 6–13 mm at midcone, surface striated, upper margin entire, incurved, undulating or emarginate, sometimes slightly recurved. Bracts ligulate, usually hidden but visible in very young cones and after scales first open at maturity. Seeds ovoid, 4 × 2.5 mm, seed wings oval, 6–10 × 4–6 mm, pale brown. (Farjon 2017; Farjon 1990).
Distribution Austria Czechia S France In the Alps Germany In the Alps Italy In the Alps Slovakia Slovenia Switzerland
Habitat High mountains of southern Europe (Alps, Carpathians) at (600–)1000–2500 m asl, in some parts of its range reaching the tree line. The climate is cool and humid, with moist summers and winter snow. Pure stands are rare, in the Alps it typically associates with Picea abies (below c. 1800 m) and Pinus cembra (above c. 1800 m).
USDA Hardiness Zone 3-6
RHS Hardiness Rating H7
Conservation status Least concern (LC)
Taxonomic note The distribution above applies to Larix decidua var. decidua only. In the wide sense this is an uncontroversial species, however there are two quite different approaches to its infraspecific diversity. This treatment follows Farjon (2017) in recognising two varieties: var. carpatica Domin and var. polonica (Racib. ex Wóycicki) Ostenf. & Syrach, each discussed on their own pages, and in the opening paragraphs below. For alternative approaches, see the taxonomic note for var. carpatica. Another purported variety, var. silesiaca, seems never to have been validly published but plants have been introduced to collections under this name. It is problematic; see the account of var. polonica for a discussion.
To a European, at least, Larix decidua is the Larch. The first of its genus to be described, and indeed the first deciduous conifer to be introduced to European gardens, it has achieved the status of an archetype. Every other deciduous conifer has been compared with it, however unfair the comparison may be. Among the earliest literary references to our native Larch are the writings of Pliny the Elder (d. 79 AD), but countless others have followed, enthusing over this remarkable tree’s special beauty, utility, or both. For the late British dendrologist Alan Mitchell it was, simply, ‘among the most valuable and decorative of all the trees we grow’ (Mitchell 1996).
European Larch (as clarity now demands) is distributed in the mountains of central and eastern Europe, primarily in the Alps and the Carpathians. The typical form (var. decidua) has its stronghold in the Alps, from southeastern France eastward as far as the mountains near Vienna, Austria, and into northern Slovenia. Throughout this region it forms beautiful and often extensive forests on steep mountain slopes, typically at high altitude, frequently in association with Pinus cembra, and less often with Abies alba, Picea abies and Pinus mugo. It is often the highest-growing tree in the Alps, forming the tree line in many areas. Here it is naturally stunted, but in optimum conditions trees can tower to 30–40 m (even taller trees, to over 50 m, can be found in planted forests in France, Germany and Poland – Monumental Trees 2026).
Across the great divide of the Danube, var. decidua is restricted to the high slopes of the Carpathian Mountains in Czechia and Slovakia (and perhaps extreme SW Poland). The range is extended by var. carpatica, which also occurs in Czechia and Slovakia but then strikes east through appropriate habitat in Poland, SW Ukraine and Romania. The Endangered var. polonica has a highly restricted distribution in a few scattered locations in southern Poland only.
While var. decidua enjoys a more or less continuous distribution in the Alps, the situation across the Danube is quite different. The Carpathians are a much lower range than the Alps – the highest peak is Slovakia’s Gerlachovský štít at 2655 m asl, while the highest peak in the Alps is Mont Blanc at 4809 m – and consequently Larch has a much more scattered distribution in the Carpathians. Not only this, but increased competition means that it is typically found in relatively small stands, or as a scattered component of forests, rarely dominating in the way that it can in the Alps. Together with many centuries of forest management – sometimes favouring Larch, sometimes not – this has made it hard to determine truly natural vs. naturalised populations, particularly in the western Carpathians. Interestingly, Larch (L. decidua var. decidua) from the Carpathians typically forms a much more slender, straight-stemmed tree than its Alpine counterpart, and for these reasons has often been favoured by foresters.
The usefulness of the Larch’s timber – regardless of provenance – has been recognised since time immemorial. It was known to the Romans and the ancient Venetians, who used it in the construction of some of the earliest extant buildings in that city, though apparently not to the ancient Greeks who were perhaps too far removed from native forests (Loudon 1844). As is the case with so many other valuable timber trees this has caused it to be planted well beyond its native range, probably initially in ‘native-adjacent’ parts of mainland Europe, but for many hundreds of years now in the UK and Ireland, too. Indeed, it was one of the earliest exotic conifers to reach Britain, but the precise date of introduction is not recorded. The earliest literary reference from England is generally held to be that of Parkinson (1629) who talks of there being few examples in gardens, grown only by ‘lovers of rarities’. Parkinson admires the crimson ‘blossoms’ produced in the spring but notes that, hitherto, he was unaware that seed cones had been produced by any tree growing in Britain. (Parkinson can be forgiven for not recognising the crimson ‘blossoms’ of this unfamiliar tree as seed cones; the pollen cones are yellow).
All larches can produce seed cones from a young age – a vigorous specimen can cone from about ten years of age – so Larix decidua was surely in cultivation in England before 1620, perhaps well before, in order for Parkinson to be familiar, however unwittingly, with its seed cones. Nevertheless, it would be well over a century before Larch became at all well-known in Britain, courtesy of the 3rd and especially the 4th Dukes of Atholl who planted it in vast numbers on their estates in Perthshire, Scotland, inspiring others to follow suit.
Such was the romance that grew up around these ‘planting dukes’ and their larches that early literature is rife with inaccuracies and errors. In particular, five trees that were planted on a lawn at Dunkeld House (the secondary Atholl residence in Perthshire) in 1738 have been heralded as the ‘parent larches’ on the assumption that they provided the main seed source for the initial larch afforestation across the wider estates (they did not) and even, in some sources, that these were the first larch to be planted outside in Britain or at least in Scotland (they were not) (Mitchell 1996). This disproportionate fanfare probably owes much to the relatively accessible position these trees were planted in – just behind Dunkeld Cathedral – where curious members of the public would have been able to view the exotic novelty with ease. Over the following decades, as the surrounding hillsides were planted with millions of larch trees, it is easy to imagine how anecdotes about the species began to be attached to individual trees in such circumstances. (Another persistent tale, that one of the Dukes had seed fired from a cannon onto the crags above Dunkeld, is preposterous – the seed would have been incinerated!)
Anyway, Larch had become ‘pretty common’ in English gardens by the time Miller penned his first Gardener’s Dictionary (Miller 1735) and relatively obtainable in the London nurseries (Mitchell 1996). Nevertheless, it would remain a collectors’ item until the 1740s, and records of early plantings are very few. Three were obtained from a merchant in Venice and planted at Lee House, Lanarkshire in 1683, but of these no trace remains. Two are known to have been planted at Dunkeld in 1727 but did not survive very long. The oldest extant trees in Scotland arrived in the Borders in 1725; at least two of this vintage grow still, one by the Dynamo Pond at Dawyck Botanic Garden and another at nearby Kailzie Gardens (Mitchell 1996; The Tree Register 2026). The next oldest is the single survivng tree from 1738 beside Dunkeld Cathedral and a few survivors of its cohort in other properties. These trees were a gift from a Mr Menzies of Culdares (Meggernie) in Glen Lyon, also Perthshire, who had obtained a few plants whilst in London and brought them home to Scotland in his portmanteau (Hunter 1883). He distributed some to friends and neighbours during his journey home, and others a little later. He was particularly generous to the Duke of Atholl, leaving the aforementioned five at Dunkeld and eleven more at the Ducal seat in Blair Atholl. A short time later the Duke’s forester was bribed, and then, having reisted bribery, threatened with a pistol by a visiting landowner who was determined to acquire one of the prized saplings (Hunter 1883)!
All these early examples were planted as specimen trees in ornamental settings, but as soon as the earliest plantings on the Atholl Estates began to produce reliable crops of good seed, young larches were raised in the estate nurseries and then transplanted into experimental forest plots. These would have been supplemented by many more saplings supplied by commercial nurseries. Between 1740 and 1750 the 3rd Duke planted 350 larch at Dunkeld and nearly 900 at Blair Atholl; by the end of the 18th century the planting was measured not by trees but by acres, then tens, then hundreds of acres. Before the 4th Duke died in 1830 (he was buried in a coffin made of Larch – Loudon 1844) it is estimated that 27 million larch trees had been planted across the Atholl Estates (Hunter 1883; Pakenham 1996) and landowners across Britain and Ireland soon followed this example.
Larch’s beauty ensured that, while looming large in the earliest days of industrial forestry, it continued to be planted as an ornamental even as a huge diversity of new species were introduced to Europe through the 19th century. After the Japanese Larch, Larix kaempferi, arrived in Europe in the middle of the 19th century it would hybridise with European Larch to give the Dunkeld Larch (often but unhelpfully referred to as Hybrid Larch, see L. × marschlinsi). This hybrid combines the best attributes of its parents and is endowed with extraordinary vigour, such that, from the early 20th century onward, European Larch would be planted less and less by commercial foresters. By 1965, 52,000 ha of European Larch was planted in Britain, compared with 94,000 ha of Dunkeld Larch. The gap continued to widen right up until the early 21st century when the threat of Phytopthora ramorum (see genus article) put paid to large scale planting, especially of Japanese and Dunkeld Larch, in the UK and Ireland. This (very well advised) caution around landscape-scale plantations of larch has had the perhaps not entirely unintended consequence of discouraging planting of any larches in UK collections, even at a very small scale. This is unfortunate, for European Larch in particular surely remains one of the most beautiful large trees that may be grown in the UK and Ireland, and it has been here so long, and indeed has long-since become naturalised, such that to many it is almost an honorary native, and it is most distressing to imagine our northern and upland areas without its verdant spring flush or shimmering autumn gold.
Larix decidua is one of rather few European trees that was found to thrive in New England after its introduction here, but even at the end of the 19th century the climate south of the Philadelphia area was considered too warm and humid in summer for it to be worth planting (Elwes & Henry 1906–1913) but it continues to thrive in northern areas. The architecture of open-grown specimens is likely to be somewhat different in North America from the European experience: two trees at the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa were fairly typical in being about 18 m tall with canopy spreads of nearly 15 m (Buckley 1980). Michael Dirr is a contemporary North American fan, noting that ‘fall colors can be excellent, new spring growth is as elegant as that of any tree’, but Larch’s distaste for warm summers is reflected in a rather narrow range of recommended USDA zones, 3 to 6 (Dirr 2009). Records of sizeable trees in North America are typically few (NB the aforementioned Ottawa trees), but Jacobson mentions two: a tree 33.2 m tall × 68 cm dbh in Spokane, Washington in 1988; and 26.2 m × 134 cm dbh in Northfield, Vemont in 1980 (Jacobson 1996).
In northern Europe, climate change is rapidly pushing the northern limit of the species to higher and higher latitudes, and there are already excellent stands of Larix decidua further north than one might imagine. For example there are stands of trees well over 30 m tall in Stange, east of Lake Mjøsa in eastern Norway (c. 60.7°N) (Monumental Trees 2026). In coastal (western) Norway sizeable trees may be found much further north, such as in Bymarker, Trondheim (c. 63.4°N), where stands include trees over 40 m tall (Monumental Trees 2026).
Compared to other European native conifers, especially Picea abies, there are mercifully few cultivars of Larix decidua! We discuss a selection of the most important below, which inevitabaly includes a range of miniatures which, for convenience, we corral under the catch-all term ‘dwarf cultivars’. These plants are remarkably alike, with their most signficant difference often being their unique origin.
Like all larch Larix decidua is best planted whilst young and allowed to establish on its own terms. Large plants do not transplant well and they resent being in containers for very long, although Air-Pot™ containers offer growers some flexibility in this regard (pers. obs.).
Key to the varieties of Larix decidua | ||
| 1a | Seed cones >2.5 cm long at maturity | var. decidua |
| 1b | Seed cones up to 2.5 cm long at maturity | 2 |
| 2a | Leaves more or less triangular in cross section; seed cones 1.2–1.5 cm long at maturity, more or less globose with open scales | var. carpatica |
| 2b | Leaves more or less flattened; seed cones c. 1.5 cm long at maturity, more or less ovoid with opened scales | var. polonica |
'Alba'
Like the type but with the young female cones whitish-green rather than the usual green or reddish- or pinkish-green (Krüssmann 1985). Although it was noted by Krüssmann such forms will no doubt occur from time to time in natural populations and among batches of seed-raised plants; it is telling, perhaps, that the RHS Encylcopaedia of Conifers (Auders & Spicer 2012) does not list it.
'Conica'
A form named and commercialised prior to 1868 by Bonmay in France with first order branches borne at right angles to the trunk but then abruptly curving strongly upright (Krüssmann 1985). Although it was noted by Krüssmann it is doubtful whether it would be considered worth naming today; it is telling, perhaps, that the RHS Encylcopaedia of Conifers (Auders & Spicer 2012) does not list it.
Dwarf Cultivars
The name ‘Compacta’ was first applied to ‘a dense, compact tree’ raised from seed at Annat Gardens in Yorkshire, UK, in about 1830 (Auders & Spicer 2012). This makes it probably the oldest name for such plants but many similar forms have been selected since, from a variety of origins (e.g. witches’ brooms, root suckers, etc.). We list these clones below, but do not describe them in detail. Unless stated otherwise they all make compact or dwarf trees of rather dense habit; their growth is slow, typically 1–2 m tall in ten years and mostly growing taller than wide, at least in time.
'Cherry Valley'
Listed by Stanley & Sons of Oregon, USA, in 2009 (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Corley'
Propagated from a witches’ broom discovered by R.S. Corley in the UK before 1971 (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Globus'
Selected from a witches’ broom and listed by L. Konijn & Co., the Netherlands, in 1992 (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Grott'
Recorded from the Netherlands before 2004 (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Kellermannii'
An old selection recorded before 1852 (Krüssmann 1985).
'Kórnik'
Of all the clones listed under Compacta Group this has a claim to be the most attractive, at least if the illustration in the RHS Encylcopaedia of Conifers is anything to go by (Auders & Spicer 2012, p. 477). It shows a bright green globose bush perhaps 1.5 m tall, the extension growth well advanced, the overall effect something like a large green firework exploding in the sky. Raised prior to 1993 in the Polish Dendrological Institute, Kórnik.
'Krejči'
One of those selections that attracts the adjective ‘monstrous’ (e.g. Auders & Spicer 2012). It arose as a root sucker in Czechia where it was found by a Mr Krejči in 1994. It forms an upright, very sparsely branched plant, and in some parts of the main stem it develops, in lieu of branches, dense clusters of buds. The leaves are irregular and twisted. Hatch observed ‘each unique and irregular in shape and orientation’ (Hatch 2024). A collector’s item! There is a cream-variegated version circulating as ‘Krejči Variegated’.
'Lanarck'
Found prior to 2004 in Illinois, USA (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Langfenn'
One of the stronger-growing selections listed under Compacta Group. Raised before 1983 by Günther Horstmann, Germany (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Little Bogle'
Narrower than many of the other selections treated under Compacta Group, typically two times taller than wide for many years. Raised before 1990 by Yamina Rare Plants, Australia (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Oberforster Karsten'
Raised by Günther Horstmann in Germany and listed by him in 1990 (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Pesek'
A rather vigorous plant raised by Günther Horstmann, Germany, before 1983 (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Prag'
A rather slow-growing plant raised in Czechia (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Pretty Carol'
A flat-topped plant wider than tall for many years, recorded from America before 2005 (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Fastigiata'
A smaller tree than the type with a narrow conical profile and steeply ascending first order branches, put into commerce by the Sénéclauze Nursery, France, before 1868 (Auders & Spicer 2012). ‘Pyramidalis’ is probably an identical clone in every way except its distinct origin, q.v.
'Glauca'
A historic name now superfluous and listed here for reference only. It is presumably derived from a var. glauca H. Jäger and has historically been applied to any seedling with glaucous leaves, but it has probably never been applied to an individual clone (Auders & Spicer 2012). Weakly glaucous plants occur in wild populations and in seed beds in cultivation; if ever an outstanding form is found it should be propagated vegetatively and given a new name (e.g. ‘Paula’, q.v.).
'Horstmann Recurved'
Very like L. kampferi ‘Diana’, with contorted and twisted ‘corkscrew’ branches, but slower in most situations and remaining more compact. Up to 2.5 m tall in ten years but eventually larger – an example planted at Bedgebury National Pinetum, Kent, UK in 2006 was 9 m tall in 2024. Raised by Günther Horstmann in Germany (Auders & Spicer 2012; The Tree Register 2026).
'Paula'
A form with a particularly good glaucous colour to the leaves, which are rather long. Raised in Hamden, Connecticut, in 1962 (Auders & Spicer 2012), we assume it is ultimately full sized, or at least tree-like in its proportions and not a dwarf.
Pendula Group
The epithet pendula has been attached to many different trees of more or less pendulous habit. In the RHS Encyclopaedia of Conifers Auders & Spicer (2012) seem to attach the cultivar name ‘Pendula’ to a tree ‘with bright grey-green foliage. In ten years 2 × 1 m, if staked. In cultivation since 1836 (or perhaps even 1789)’ but acknowledge that multiple clones are involved. Krüssmann (1985) describes a ‘very irregularly horizontal crown, stem also frequently divided with many leaders’ and again acknowledges that it has occured repeatedly. To add to the confusion, in recent years the rather distinct, mass-produced pendulous clone of Japanese Larch (L. kaempferi ‘Pendula’) has sometimes been sold as L. decidua ‘Pendula’, at least in the UK (pers. obs.).
'Julian's Weeper'
A strongly weeping selection which will be more or less prostrate if grafted low; if top grafted and diligently staked it can form a strongly pendulous small tree. Introduced by Yamina Rare Plants, Australia, in 1982 (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Pendulina'
A clone recorded by Krüssmann (1985) on the basis of ‘one very old plant’ in the St Petersburg Botanic Garden ‘ascending from several stems at the base’. St Petersburg’s traditional climate would have been close to the cold-tolerance of L. decidua which might explain this habit and the cultivar may just have been a renaming of a Pendula type plant.
'Puli'
Described as a strongly weeping plant, to 2 m tall and less than half as wide in ten years if staked, the foliage is said to be a brighter green than most Pendula Group clones (or plants labelled ‘Pendula’). Selected before 1995 by Jozsa Miklos in Hungary (Auders & Spicer 2012).
'Repens'
Included here on the basis of habit, ‘Repens’ has been known in Britain since at least 1825 (Krüssmann 1985). It is a vigorous plant with unsually long branches that will form a prostrate mat unless staked, in which case it will form a weeping tree 2 m tall in ten years (Auders & Spicer 2012)
'Viminalis'
A plant with an erect leader and more or less typical first order branches, but all subordinate branches, branchlets, shoots etc. strongly pendulous (Auders & Spicer 2012). Such forms are common throughout native populations and it is doubtful whether it merits recognition anymore; we list it here for historic interest only.
'Pyramidalis'
A smaller tree than the type with a narrow conical profile and steepling ascending first order branches, raised and introduced by the Ellwanger & Barry Nursery of Rochester, New York, USA in 1908 though possibly now lost to cultivation (Auders & Spicer 2012). Except for its distinct origin ‘Pyramidalis’ is probably identical to ‘Fastigiata’ (Krüssmann 1985).
'Summer Belle'
An upright, narrowly pyramidal, semi-dwarf plant reported from American cultivation c. 2023. Ultimate dimensions unknown. It arose as a seedling from a witches’ broom (Hatch 2024).
var. carpatica Domin
Synonyms
Larix carpatica (Domin) Domin
Larix decidua subsp. carpatica (Domin) Silba
Distributed east of the Danube, differing primarily in the seed cones, (1.2–)2–2.2(–2.5) cm long at maturity, more or less as wide as long when opened, (globose, cf. ovoid in the type and var. polonica), seed scales with rounded, entire upper margins (Farjon 2017).
Distribution Poland south Romania Carpathian Mountains Slovakia Tatra Mountains Ukraine Far SW (Carpathian Mountains)
RHS Hardiness Rating: H7
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4
Taxonomic note There is inconsistency in literature regarding the distribution of this taxon, largely but not exclusively correlated to the different approaches taken to classifying the infraspecific diversity of Larix decidua. This account follows Farjon (2017) who sets out clear (if subtle) morphological differences between the type (var. decidua) and two varieties (var. carpatica, var. polonica) that also correspond, more or less, to discrete geographies: var. polonica is endemic to a few scattered sites in southern Poland, while var. carpatica may be found throughout the Carpathian Mounains, from Czechia in the west to Romania in the east, and this is the only Larch that grows wild in SW Ukraine and Romania. Var. polonica and var. carpatica overlap in southern Poland. The type (var. decidua) is the only Larch in the Alps; it also occurs in the western Carpathians, in Czechia, Slovakia, and probably SW Poland too (but not within the range of var. polonica). Some works, notably Flora Europaea, take a different view, and conflate the taxa treated here as var. carpatica and var. polonica and treat all relevant populations as L.d. subsp. polonica (Racib. ex Wóycicki) Domin. (Like other works, Flora Europaea also considers the type native in the Western Carpathian Mountains, in Czechia, Slovakia and extreme SW Poland).
It appears that this variety is cultivated in just a handful of collections across our area. It is possibly somewhat more common than records suggest because it is likely to be masquerading here and there as plain ‘Larix decidua’, but it is only really of any significance within its native range in eastern Europe and in a few adjacent areas. Like the type it is an important timber tree in its native range.
var. polonica (Racib. ex Wóycicki) Ostenf. & Syrach
Common Names
Polish Larch
Larice
Zada
Synonyms
Larix decidua var. eupolonica Domin
Larix decidua subsp. polonica (Racib. ex Wóycicki) Domin
Larix polonica Racib. ex Wóycicki
Differing from the type in the branchlets pale yellow; leaves flattened; seed cones small, c. 1.5 × 1.2 cm at maturity with suborbicular, convex scales with a rounded, entire upper margin, more or less ovoid with open scales (Farjon 2017).
Distribution Poland south-western Carpathian mountains, in the headwaters of the Wista River)
RHS Hardiness Rating: H6
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-5
Polish Larch, Larix decidua var. polonica, is a rare tree both in the wild and in collections. It is confined to a few scattered localities in southern Poland, mainly in the headwaters of the Wista River. Larch (in a wider if uncertain sense) was once much more widespread here; its timber was the primary material used in the construction of churches and large country houses in the region between c. 1400–1700 (Elwes & Henry 1906–1913), though it is not clear whether this was var. polonica or var. carpatica. Either way, it is likely that changing woodland management regimes disadvantaged Larch, which as a consequence now appears as though a relict, persisting rather than thriving in just a handful of genuinely natural stands, but the picture is muddled by a long history of woodland management, including planting (pers. obs. 2010).
Described in 1912, Polish Larch seems not to have caused much excitement and was introduced to collections rather quietly. The oldest trees in the UK seem to have been introduced in 1922. Surviving trees from this introduction, which may have been sent initially to Augustine Henry, may be found at Kew, Bedgebury National Pinetum, and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Of these, the Edinburgh tree was 19.5 m tall × 44 cm dbh in 2025; a tree at Kew was 21.5 m × 46 cm in 2022, and the best at Bedgebury in 2024 was 27.7 m × 63 cm (The Tree Register 2026). Neither these nor other purported examples are likely to encourage widespread planting of the variety; next to typical Larch it makes a rather thin and lacklustre tree, and a handsome and vigorous mature tree labelled var. polonica should provoke at least some suspicion. Sporadic introductions through the latter 20th century – mainly for forestry experiments – seem not to have been well documented, but trees so-labelled may be found in various UK collections. However, in the absence of confirmed provenance, or at least expert verification, caution is advised (see below). In 2010, new wild-collected seed was introduced by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s International Conifer Conservation Programme under Christian & Iskuło 34, 37, 38, 44 and 49. Young trees are establishing in several collections including Edinburgh, Dawyck, Scone, Bedgebury, Westonbirt, Harcourt and the Castle Howard Arboretum (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 2026).
The name “Larix decidua var. silesiaca” is problematic, and should be discussed in the context of Polish Larch. The historic region of Silesia approximates to a large part of modern southwest Poland, a smaller adjacant part of modern northeast Czechia, and an even smaller part of modern eastern Germany. There is no evidence, however, that any permutation of the name ‘silesiaca’ was ever validly published in Larix (IPNI 2026), but it appears (always authorless) on labels, in catalogues and databases, and in reports and other literature of the early to middle 20th century. The limited evidence available seems to suggest that var. silesiaca was coined by foresters who used it, informally, to convey provenance rather than any botanical distinction. Plants bearing this name were introduced to cultivation in Britain as long ago as 1913 (a tree at Cambridge Botanic Garden). In the second volume of their magnum opus, published in 1907, Elwes & Henry refer to a ‘Silesian variety’ but give it no formal name. These pieces of evidence point to this name coming into use sometime between 1907 and 1913. Although there has been some historic confusion about the extent of var. polonica (mainly concerning the distinction between it and var. carpatica) it is now generally agreed that it is endemic to a very small area of south-central Poland (Farjon 2017). Furthermore, distribution data obtained from herbarium material tell us that its localities are all too far east to fall within that area of modern Poland implicit in Silesia, where only var. decidua and var. carpatica occur naturally (Christian & Farjon 2019; Farjon 2017).
This begs the question, what is ‘var. silesiaca’ of forestry? It seems probable, unfortunately, that faced with the botanically meaningless name var. silesiaca some growers, institutions and other authorities began to treat it as synonymous with Polish Larch after that taxon was published in 1912, conflating Silesia and greater Poland in the process. The Tree Register of Britain and Ireland (2026) includes several trees labelled or introduced as var. silesiaca, such as the one in Cambridge and two at Bedgebury, within its records of var. polonica. The two Bedgebury trees have been studied during research for this account and have been determined as Larix decidua var. decidua (pers. obs.), but that is not to say that every such tree will belong here. Assuming that the name ‘var. silesiaca’ was intended to convey provenance equating to historic Silesia, then plants may be var. decidua or var. carpatica, for both occur here. It seems unlikely that commercial seed collectors, working for merchants supplying foresters, would have bothered themselves with this botanical triviality even after var. carpatica was described in 1930, let alone before.
Certainly many trees have been raised from seed gathered in historic Silesia, such as the 360 kg of seed imported to Britain from Czechia in 1954 (Forestry Commission 1954). The majority of such material was likely intended for forestry plantations, but a handful of trees have doubtless found their way into collections, where a proportion are likely to be labelled var. polonica. It seems advisable, then, to take any record that uses the names ‘var. silesiaca’ or var. polonica with a generous pinch of salt, and to examine such material very carefully.
'Virgata'
Like so many other Pinaceae that bear this name, ‘Virgata’ forms a single leader from which first order branches are produced only sparsely, and these in turn are very little-branched, the whole effect attracting descriptors such as ‘monstrous’ or ‘snake-like’. It was first found in the wild in Austria and in Germany about 1892 (Auders & Spicer 2012; Krüssmann 1985).