Larix gmelinii var. japonica

(Maxim. ex Regel) Pilger 1926

Common names

グイマツ [Japanese]; Лиственница курильская [Russian]; gui or kuy [Ainu]; Kurile larch.

Taxonomic notes

Synonymy (Farjon 1998,Iwatsuki et al. 1995):

• Larix dahurica Turcz. ex Trautv. var. japonica Maxim. ex Regel, Gartenflora 20: 105, t. 685 6 (1871);
• Larix kurilensis Mayr, Monogr. Abietin, Japan. Reich.: 66, t. 5 15 (1890);
• Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Kuzen. subsp. japonica (Maxim. ex Regel) E. Murray, Kalmia 12:21 (1982).

Description

Monoecious. Deciduous tree to 30 m tall, remaining dwarfed in severe environments (see photo). Bark gray-brown. Branches gray-brown, grooved. Long shoots red-brown, sparsely to subdensely puberulent. Short shoots 2-4 mm long and across, with traces of scales crowded into one to seven rings. Leaves spirally arranged on long shoots, numerous, crowded on short shoots, flat, 1.5-3 cm long, ca. 0.8 mm wide, apex obtuse, green on upper surface, with two white stomatal bands on lower surface; resin canals two, attached on lower margins. Flowers May to June, solitary, terminal on short shoots. Cones ripen in September, erect, ovoid, brown tinged with purple, 2-2.5 cm long, ca. 1.5 cm across; bracts thin, lanceolate to oblong-ovate, apex acuminate, with a prominent midrib, 8-9 × 2.5 mm, about 2/3 as long as scales; scales thin, widely ovate, narrowing upward, 10-13 × 8 mm, roundish-obtuse, apex not reflexed, pilose on upper margin, base densely lanate. Seeds oblong-ovate, black-brown outside, white inside, 4 × 2.5 mm; wings pale brown, ovate, narrowing upward, 5-7 × 3-4 mm (Iwatsuki et al. 1995).

This variety differs from var. gmelinii by its red-brown (not yellow-brown), sparsely to densely puberulent (not glabrous) young shoots (Iwatsuki et al. 1995); also, the opened cones are wider than long (length × width 1.2-2.5 × 1.5-2.8 cm), the seed scales more numerous (18-25), and the leaves slightly shorter (1.5-3 cm) (Farjon 1990).

Distribution and Ecology

Russia: Sakhalin and Iturup Island in the Kuriles; Japan: Etorofu and Shikotan Islands in the Kuriles (Iwatsuki et al. 1995), where it grows in high swamps and bogs, "usually in pure stands, but on somewhat drier sites mixed with Abies sachalinensis var. sachalinensis, Picea jezoensis, Alnus hirsuta, Betula japonica, Betula ermanii and Salix spp. (Farjon 1990).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.11.29.

Ethnobotany

The Ainu would throw the branches into the fire to drive off evil spirits, and they used the wood for hunting tools. Laricifomes officinalis, a fungus that grows on the bark of the larch, was used medicinally and as tinder (Williams 2017).

Observations

No data as of 2023.11.29.

Remarks

The epithet refers to this taxon's occurrence in Japan.

Citations

Farjon, Aljos. 1990. Pinaceae: drawings and descriptions of the genera Abies, Cedrus, Pseudolarix, Keteleeria, Nothotsuga, Tsuga, Cathaya, Pseudotsuga, Larix and Picea. Königstein: Koeltz Scientific Books.

Williams, Dai. 2017. Ainu Ethnobiology. Tacoma, WA: Society of Ethnobiology. ISBN 978-0-9887330-7-7 (PDF). P. 169.

See also

Elwes and Henry 1906-1913 at the Biodiversity Heritage Library (as L. kurilensis) (Photo). This series of volumes, privately printed, provides some of the most engaging descriptions of conifers ever published. Although they only treat species cultivated in the U.K. and Ireland, and the taxonomy is a bit dated, still these accounts are thorough, treating such topics as species description, range, varieties, exceptionally old or tall specimens, remarkable trees, and cultivation. Despite being over a century old, they are generally accurate, and are illustrated with some remarkable photographs and lithographs.