Editing Larch (section)

==Species and taxonomy==
{{cladogram|title=A suggested phylogeny of ''Larix'' from Stull et al., 2021<ref name ="Stull">{{cite journal |last1=Stull |first1=Gregory W. |last2=Qu |first2=Xiao-Jian |last3=Parins-Fukuchi |first3=Caroline |last4=Yang |first4=Ying-Ying |last5=Yang |first5=Jun-Bo |last6=Yang |first6=Zhi-Yun |last7=Hu |first7=Yi  |last8=Ma |first8=Hong |last9=Soltis |first9=Pamela S. |last10=Soltis |first10=Douglas E. |last11=Li |first11=De-Zhu |last12=Smith |first12=Stephen A. |last13=Yi |first13=Ting-Shuang |display-authors=et al. |year=2021 |title=Gene duplications and phylogenomic conflict underlie major pulses of phenotypic evolution in gymnosperms |journal=Nature Plants |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-021-00964-4 |volume=7 |issue= 8|pages=1015–1025 |doi=10.1038/s41477-021-00964-4|biorxiv=10.1101/2021.03.13.435279 |pmid= 34282286|pmc= |bibcode= 2021NatPl...7.1015S|s2cid=232282918 |doi-access=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Stull |first1=Gregory W. |display-authors=et al. |year=2021 |title=main.dated.supermatrix.tree.T9.tre |publisher=Figshare |doi=10.6084/m9.figshare.14547354.v1 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Gene_duplications_and_genomic_conflict_underlie_major_pulses_of_phenotypic_evolution_in_gymnosperms/14547354 |doi-access=}}</ref> Note that this is not in accord with other taxonomic references cited below.|
{{clade|style=font-size:90%;line-height:100%;width:300px
|1={{clade
  |1={{clade
    |label1=series
    |sublabel1=''Potaniniae''
    |1=''[[Larix potaninii|L. potaninii]]'' <small>Batalin</small>
     }}
  |2={{clade
    |1={{clade
      |label1=series
      |sublabel1=''Occidentales''
      |1=''[[Larix occidentalis|L. occidentalis]]'' <small>Nuttall</small>
       }}
    |2={{clade
      |1={{clade
        |label1=series
        |sublabel1=''Deciduae''
        |1=''[[Larix decidua|L. decidua]]'' <small>Miller</small>
         }}
      |2={{clade
        |1=''[[Larix cajanderi|L. cajanderi]]'' <small>Mayr</small>
        |2={{clade
          |label1=series
          |sublabel1=''Griffithianae''
          |1={{clade
            |1=''[[Larix griffithii|L. griffithii]]'' <small>Hooker</small>
            |2=''[[Larix gmelinii|L. gmelinii]]'' <small>(Rupr.) Kuzen.</small>
             }}
          |label2=series
          |sublabel2=''Laricinae''
          |2={{clade
            |1={{clade
              |1=''[[Larix kaempferi|L. kaempferi]]'' <small>(Lamb.) Carrière</small>
              |2=''[[Larix laricina|L. laricina]]'' <small>(Du Roi) Koch</small>
                 }}
            |2={{clade
              |1=''[[Larix lyallii|L. lyallii]]'' <small>Parlatore</small>
              |2=''[[Larix sibirica|L. sibirica]]'' <small>Ledeb.</small>
               }}
             }}
           }}
         }}
       }}
     }}
   }}
}}
}}

The genus ''Larix'' belongs to the subfamily [[Laricoideae]], which also includes the Douglas-firs, genus ''[[Pseudotsuga]]''; the genus ''[[Cathaya]]'' was also included in some older studies,<ref name="Farjon">{{cite book | last=Farjon | first=Aljos | title=A Handbook of the World's Conifers (2 Vols.) | publisher=BRILL | publication-place=Leiden | date=2010-04-27 | isbn=978-90-04-17718-5 | page=}}</ref> but is now considered closer to ''[[Pinus]]'' and ''[[Picea]]''.<ref name="Yang">{{cite journal | last1=Yang | first1=Yong | last2=Ferguson | first2=David Kay | last3=Liu | first3=Bing | last4=Mao | first4=Kang-Shan | last5=Gao | first5=Lian-Ming | last6=Zhang | first6=Shou-Zhou | last7=Wan | first7=Tao | last8=Rushforth | first8=Keith | last9=Zhang | first9=Zhi-Xiang | title=Recent advances on phylogenomics of gymnosperms and a new classification | journal=Plant Diversity | volume=44 | issue=4 | date=2022 | pmid=35967253 | pmc=9363647 | doi=10.1016/j.pld.2022.05.003 | doi-access=free | pages=340–350| bibcode=2022PlDiv..44..340Y }}</ref><ref name ="Stull"/> In the past, the cone bract length was often used to divide the larches into two sections (sect. ''Larix'' with short bracts, and sect. ''Multiserialis'' with long bracts), but genetic evidence<ref name="Germand-1999"/> does not support this division, pointing instead to a genetic divide between [[Old World]] and [[New World]] species, with the cone and bract size being merely adaptations to climatic conditions. More recent genetic studies have proposed three groups within the genus, with a primary division into North American and Eurasian species, and a secondary division of the Eurasian into northern short-bracted species and southern long-bracted species;<ref name="Semerikov-1999"/><ref name="Wei-2003"/><ref name="Wei-2004"/><ref name="Gros-Louis-2005"/> there is some dispute over the position of ''Larix sibirica'', a short-bracted species which is placed in the short-bracted group by some of the studies and the long-bracted group by others. 

Ten species and one natural hybrid of larch are accepted by [[Plants of the World Online]] (POWO),<ref name=POWO>{{cite web |work=Plants of the World Online |title=''Larix'' Mill. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30017099-2 |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |location=London |access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref> following the [[Lumpers and splitters|conservative]] treatment in Farjon (2010);<ref name="Farjon"/> several others are accepted by other authors, notably Rushforth,<ref name="Rushforth"/> and the ''Flora of China''.<ref name="FoC">{{cite web | title=''Larix'' in the ''Flora of China'' @ efloras.org | website=eFloras.org Home | url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=117628 | access-date=2025-01-23}}</ref> These are subdivided on the basis of the most recent [[Phylogenetics|phylogenetic]] investigations:

=== Eurasian species ===
[[File:Nature in Khanty-Mansiya.jpg|thumb|[[Siberian larch]]es]]

==== Northern Eurasian species with short bracts ====
* ''[[Larix decidua]]'' {{small |[[Philip Miller|Mill.]]}} (syn. ''L. europaea'' {{small |[[Augustin Pyramus de Candolle|D.C.]]}}) – European larch. Mountains of central [[Europe]].
* ''[[Larix sibirica]]'' {{small |Ledeb.}} – Siberian larch. Plains of western [[Siberia]].
* ''[[Larix × czekanowskii]]'' {{small |Szafer}} – an accepted hybrid between ''L. gmelinii'' and ''L. sibirica''.<ref name=POWO/>
* ''[[Larix gmelinii]]'' {{small |(Rupr.) Göpp.}} (syn. ''L. dahurica'' {{small |Turcz. ex Trautv.}}, ''L. cajanderi'' {{small |Mayr}}) – Dahurian larch. Plains of central and eastern Siberia.
* ''[[Larix principis-rupprechtii]]'' {{small |Mayr}} – Prince Rupprecht's larch. Mountains of northeastern China (disputed; accepted by Rushforth<ref name="Rushforth"/> and many Chinese botanists;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zhang |first1=Jianwei |last2=Xu |first2=Huacheng |editor1-last=Schmidt |editor1-first=Wyman C. |editor2-last=McDonald |editor2-first=Kathy J. |title=Silvics of ''Larix principis-rupprechtii'' Mayr |date=1995 |publisher=USDA Forest Service |location=in: Ecology and Management of Larix Forests GTR-INT-319 |pages=227–230}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Li |first1=Wenrong |last2=Qi |first2=Liwang |last3=Han |first3=Youzhi |last4=Zhang |first4=Jianwei |editor1-last=Schmidt |editor1-first=Wyman C. |editor2-last=McDonald |editor2-first=Kathy J. |title=Distribution and Variation of ''Larix principis-rupprechtii'' forest in Shanxi Province |date=1995 |publisher=USDA Forest Service |location=in: Ecology and Management of Larix Forests GTR-INT-319 |pages=360–364}}</ref> treated as a variety of ''L. gmelinii'' by POWO<ref name=POWO/> despite its disjunct distribution and much larger cones).
* ''[[Larix kaempferi]]'' {{small |(Lamb.) Carr.}} (syn. ''L. leptolepis'' {{small |(Siebold & Zucc.) Gordon & Glend.}}) – Japanese larch. Mountains of central [[Japan]].

==== Southern Euroasiatic species with long bracts ====
[[File:107 Larix griffithii, Chelela to Paro, Bhutan.jpg|thumb|''[[Larix griffithii]]'' in [[Bhutan]]]]

* ''[[Larix potaninii]]'' {{small |Batalin}} – Chinese larch. Mountains of southwestern [[China]] (southern [[Sichuan]], northern [[Yunnan]]).
* ''[[Larix mastersiana]]'' {{small |Rehder & E.H.Wilson}} – Masters' larch. Mountains of western China (northern Sichuan).
* ''[[Larix griffithii]]'' {{small |Hook.f.}} (syn. ''L. griffithiana'') – Sikkim larch. Mountains of the eastern [[Himalayas]], on the wet (high monsoon) southern slopes.
* ''[[Larix himalaica]]'' {{small |W.C.Cheng & L.K.Fu}} - Langtang larch. Mountains of the central [[Himalayas]] (disputed; accepted by Rushforth<ref name="Rushforth"/> and the ''Flora of China'';<ref name="FoC"/> treated as a variety of ''L. potaninii'' by POWO<ref name=POWO/> despite being geographically distant from it).
* ''[[Larix kongboensis]]'' {{small |R.R.Mill}} - Kongbo larch. Mountains of southeastern Tibet, on the dry northern side of the Himalaya in the [[Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon]] area (disputed; accepted by the ''Flora of China'';<ref name="FoC"/> treated as a synonym of ''L. griffithii'' by POWO<ref name=POWO/> despite its smaller cones and other distinct characters<ref name="FoC"/>).
* ''[[Larix speciosa]]'' {{small |W.C.Cheng & Y.W.Law}} - Burmese larch. Mountains of southwestern [[China]] (southwestern [[Yunnan]]) and northeastern [[Myanmar]] (disputed; accepted by Rushforth<ref name="Rushforth"/> and the ''Flora of China'';<ref name="FoC"/> treated as a variety of ''L. griffithii'' by POWO<ref name=POWO/> despite being geographically distant from it, and closer to ''L. potaninii'' in morphology<ref name="Rushforth"/>).

=== North American species ===
[[File:Raven Ridge - Flickr - brewbooks (2).jpg|thumb|Larch forest in the [[North Cascades]]]]
* ''[[Larix laricina]]'' (Du Roi) K. Koch – Tamarack or American larch. Parts of [[Alaska]] and throughout [[Canada]] and the northern [[United States]] from the eastern [[Rocky Mountains]] to the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] shore.
* ''[[Larix lyallii]]'' Parl. – Subalpine larch. Mountains of northwest United States and southwest Canada, at very high altitude.
* ''[[Larix occidentalis]]'' Nutt. – Western larch. Mountains of northwest United States and southwest Canada, at lower altitudes ([[Pacific Northwest]]).

===Hybrids===
Most if not all of the species can be [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridised]] in cultivation;<ref name=Vidaković>{{cite book |last1=Vidaković |first1=Mirko |author1-link=Mirko Vidaković |title=Conifers |date=1991 |publisher=Grafički Zavod Hrvatske |location=Croatia |pages=255–281 |edition=English}}</ref> these hybrids are not discussed by POWO as they are not of natural occurrence. The hybrid [[Larix × marschlinsii|''Larix'' × ''marschlinsii'']] {{small |Coaz}} (syn. ''L.'' × ''eurolepis''), the Dunkeld larch, a spontaneous artificial hybrid ''L. decidua'' × ''L. kaempferi'' that arose more or less simultaneously in Switzerland and Scotland in 1901–1904,<ref name="Candolle">{{cite journal |last1=Candolle |first1=Roger de |last2=Burdet |first2=Hervé M. |title=The correct name of the Dunkeld, or Hybrid, Larch |journal=International Dendrology Society Yearbook |date=1983 |volume=1982 |pages=67–68}}</ref> is by far the best known, being of major importance in [[forestry]] in northern Europe. ''Larix'' × ''pendula'' {{small |(Sol.) Salisb.}} (''L. decidua'' × ''L. laricina''),<ref name="Mitchell">{{cite web |last=Mitchell|first=Alan| title=Conifers in the British Isles: a descriptive handbook |date=1972 | url=https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/1972/03/fcbk033.pdf |page=142 |access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref> and ''Larix'' × ''eurokurilensis'' {{small |Rohm.}} (''L. decidua'' × ''L. gmelinii'')<ref name=Vidaković/> have also been named, but are rarely seen in cultivation.

[[Larix × stenophylla|''Larix'' × ''stenophylla'']] {{small |Sukaczev}} is another probable hybrid still unresolved.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}