Larix potaninii
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Philip & Emma Mackenzie
Credits
Tom Christian (2026)
Recommended citation
Christian, T. (2026), 'Larix potaninii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Synonyms
- Larix thibetica Franch.
Infraspecifics
Tree 40–50 m tall, 1–1.5 m dbh. Bark on young trees grey, scaly, soon detaching in concave plates; with age developing deep fissures, dark brown in fissures, grey between them. Crown broad conical, irregular and often domed in old trees. First order branches long, slender, ascending in the upper crown but otherwise horizontal or ascending, or bowed low on the trunk of old trees, the tips level. Second order branches long, slender, somewhat pendulous especially in old trees. Long shoots thin, flexible, reddish-brown, later grey, densely pubescent at least in grooves; short shoots small, pubescent. Vegetative buds ovoid to sub-globose, 3 × 2.5 mm, resinous. Leaves on short shoots borne in pseudowhorls of 20–40, narrowly linear, 1.2–3.5(–4) cm long, 1 mm wide, widest above the middle, apex obtuse to subacute, triangular in cross section, flattened above, keeled below; stomata in a few faint lines on upper surface, in two narrow bands below. Pollen cones c. 10 mm long, yellow. Seed cones cylindrical to elliptic, apex obtuse, 3.5–5.5 cm long, 1.5–2.5 cm wide at maturity, greenish-violet at first, bracts purple with pale cusps and margins, ripening dark brown with dark purplish bracts. Seed scales 35–65 per cone, sub-orbicular, 9–13 × 9–12 mm at mid cone, surface smooth or striate, glabrous, upper margin entire or erose, not incurved. Bracts broad ligulate-lanceolate, apex acute or mucronate, 1.2–2.2 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, exserted, straight, erect, not recurved. Seeds ovoid, 3 × 2.5 mm, seed wings ovate oblong, 6–8 × 4–5 mm, pale purplish brown. (Farjon 2017; Debreczy & Rácz 2011; Fu, Li & Mill 1999).
Distribution China S Gansu, S Shaanxi, W Sichuan, NW Yunnan, E Xizang (Tibet)
Habitat Montane to subalpine forests from 2300–4300 m asl. Across a large range it occurs in cool-temperate to continental climate types, with rather short, cool summers and long winters. Precipitation varies from c. 800 to 2000 mm. At high altitudes it often forms pure stands, but lower down associates with other conifers; species vary across the distribution, but typically include Abies chensiensis, A. fargesii, Juniperus spp., Picea spp. In these high-altitude forests, the broadleaf component is typically restricted to the understorey but will often include Betula and Sorbus spp.
RHS Hardiness Rating H6
Conservation status Least concern (LC)
Taxonomic note In the broad sense, Larix potaninii has the widest distribution of any of the Sino-Himalayan larches. It is found from southern Gansu south to southeast Xizang (Tibet) and northwest Yunnan, always in mountains, where it occupies a broad altitudinal range of 2500–4000 m asl (though mostly above 3000 m – Debreczy & Rácz 2011). Two varieties are usually recognised: var. chinensis from the north of the range, and var. australis from the south, with the nominate var. potaninii occupying a large area betweem them (Farjon 2017). These varieties are discussed individually below and a key to them is provided. NB that in addition to cone characters some works also use shoot colour as a character distinguishing var. chinensis especially, but inconsistencies are reported. Collections originating from Nepal and labelled L. potaninii are likely to represent L. himalaica.
With a wide distribution across an area frequently visited by western plant collectors, Larix potaninii has a long history of introduction to the west. In the second volume (1907) of The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland, Henry Elwes notes that it had already been collected by Potanin himself, Prince Henry of Orleans, Pratt, and Wilson (a wonderful roll call!) (Elwes & Henry 1906–1913), but the only living plants Elwes mentions were raised from Wilson’s 1904 gathering near Kangding (Wilson for Veitch 3009). Later Wilson collections included W 4071 and 4729 of 1910, and a year later Purdom collected the species in Gansu (Purdom 760, 817) (Sargent 1916).
Of course Elwes was only able to observe young saplings from Wilson’s 1904 collection in the Veitch nurseries, but he predicted that Larix potaninii would never become an important timber tree in Britain on account of its alpine habitat in a climate so different from the prevailing maritime one of Britain. Indeed, it has proved to be a short-lived species in cultivation. Young trees grew well in many arboreta and it became a desirable but always rare ornamental following Wilson’s introduction of 1904. A tree from this was planted at Dawyck in the Scottish Borders in 1910 and was 4.2 m × 14 cm dbh by 1931; better examples grew in milder gardens including Bodnant (6.7 m) and Headfort (5.9 m) (Chittenden 1932). None of these trees was mentioned by Mitchell (1972) but the Headfort tree was measured by him in 1980 when it was 16 m × 30 cm; it has since died (The Tree Register 2026). Mitchell mentions various others in Conifers in the British Isles, probably from gatherings made by George Forrest in Yunnan in the 1920s and 30s, but again none are alive today (and probably all of Forrest’s introductions represent var. australis). Some of the best trees extant today are from relatively recent introductions and again probably represent var. australis; these are discussed below. A notable exception is Roy Lancaster’s L 938 from c. 3500 m asl between Chendu and Laan in Sichuan, therefore probably var. potaninii, of which there is a tree at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire, 14.5 m × 24 cm dbh in 2023 (The Tree Register 2026). Other collections likely to belong to the type include CLD 223 and a Maurice Foster collection from west of Kangding (K. Rushforth, pers. comm. 2026).
Among Sino-Himalayan larches Larix potaninii is notable for having parts of its distribution in cool-temperate areas, and in the northern parts of its range the climate is distinctly continental (though not, it must be said, to the same extent as the strongly continental climate that prevails across the range of e.g. L. gmelinii). This means that, unlike the other Sino-Himalayan taxa, L. potaninii is encountered in a few relatively cold collections, for example at Hørsholm in Denmark (University of Copenhagen 2026), but it is by no means common, and even in the conducive, maritime climate of Britain, it is largely restricted to specialist collections even though it seems an easier subject than L. griffithii and allies.
Key to the varieties of Larix potaninii | ||
| 1a | Seed cones 5–9 cm, seed scales 50–80; SW Sichuan and NW Yunnan only | var. australis |
| 1b | Seed cones <5(–5.5) cm | 2 |
| 2a | Seed cones 3.5–5(–5.5) cm, seed scales 35–65; S Gansu, S Shaanxi, W Sichuan, NW Yunnan, E Xizang (Tibet) | var. potaninii |
| 2b | Seed cones 2.5–5(–5.5) cm; S Shaanxi only | var. chinensis |
var. australis A. Henry ex Hand.-Mazz.
Synonyms
Larix potaninii var. macrocarpa Y.W. Law
This variety has larger cones than either of the other varieties (5–9 × 2.5–4 cm), and the seed scales are more numerous (50–90*) (Farjon 2017; Fu, Li & Mill 1999). Many works say the branchlets are reddish-brown but this character seems to be inconsistent in L. potaninii.
*Some works suggest this taxon can have up to 140 cone scales, but this is an error. 50–80 is typical, occasionally up to 90, but probably no more. Both L. potaninii var. australis and L. speciosa are reported from SW Sichuan and NW Yunnan and it is possible that mistaken identity has contributed to the confusion; L. speciosa cones typically have about 100 scales (Fu, Li & Mill 1999).
Distribution China SW Sichuan, NW Yunnan, ?SE Xizang (Tibet)
RHS Hardiness Rating: H6
USDA Hardiness Zone: 7-8
Taxonomic note This larch is subject to one of those irksome, brow-furrowing conflations of taxonomic opinion and nomenclatural priority that should be explained here. There is broad agreement that the large-coned populations of L. potaninii in the south of the range merit taxonomic distinction at the rank of variety; the problem is what to call them. Farjon (2001) treats the name var. australis as a synonym of L. potaninii var. potaninii; this view is followed by resources like Plants of the World Online (POWO 2026) and, consequently, many others. In that scenario the correct name for the large-coned variety of L. potaninii distributed in SW Sichuan and NW Yunnan becomes var. macrocarpa (Farjon 2001). However, this interpretation is not in accord with the original description of var. australis, which cites 7 cm cones, well above the 5(–5.5) cm cones of var. potaninii. Cone size, and a discrete distribution, are the chief characters that distinguish this entity: if one disagrees with Farjon, and is of the opinion that the names var. australis and var. macrocarpa refer to the same large-coned entity, then var. australis has priority as the older name (published 1929 vs. 1975). An alternative solution would be not to recognise this large-coned entity at the southern end of the range at all, and sink both these names into var. potaninii.
Larix potaninii var. australis occurs at the southern end of the species’ distribution, in southwest Sichuan and northwest Yunnan. Seed was probably first introduced from Yunnan by Forrest, although no trees that are likely to represent his introductions are still alive. One of the best Forrest trees grew in the Tolls at Borde Hill, West Sussex, UK where it reached 16 m × 28 cm in 1981, but it died sometime later (The Tree Register 2026; Mitchell 1972).
Most recent introductions of Larix potaninii to the UK likely represent this variety, but they are rarely identified to varietal level. It has been collected, for example, under the collector codes CLD 123, ACE 1425, SICH 1068 and FED 53. At Dawyck two trees from FED 53 were 10 m × 23 cm and 11 m × 17 cm in 2025; at the Castle Howard Arboretum a tree from CLD 123 was 10 m × 14 cm in 2023; at Wakehurst Place, Sussex, a tree from CLD 123 was 8.6 m × 24 cm in 2025 and another from SICH 1068 was 6.8 m × 16 cm in 2024 (The Tree Register 2026).
var. chinensis L.K.Fu & Nan Li
Common Names
秦岭红杉 (qin ling hong shan)
Qinling Larch
Shaanxi Larch
Synonyms
Larix chinensis Beissn. nom. illeg.
Larix potaninii subsp. chinensis (L.K.Fu & Nan Li) Silba
Typically of smaller stature than the type, but differing in its yellowish cone scales with adpressed hairs (cf. violet and glabrous), seed scale underside striate (cf. smooth). (Fu & Li 1997; Farjon 2017; Debreczy & Rácz 2011).
Distribution China S Shaanxi (to the north of var. potaninii, on Taibai Shan, Foping Xian, Baoji Shi)
RHS Hardiness Rating: H6
It is doubtful whether Larix potaninii var. chinensis is in cultivation. Purdom introduced it from the type locality in 1911 (Purdom 404) (Sargent 1916) but there is no record of plants surviving anywhere very long. A contemporary Swedish team introduced material in the recent past but it has failed to establish in southern Sweden where the climate is too soft for it (H. Sjöman, pers. comm. 2026).