Distribution in the Binn Valley
A scenario for Climate change (global warming) | LARCH Larix decidua L.
"One
is surprised ... to see, how the larch presents the same warm hue
inside, which the painters so much savour in the violin. Like the
flowers of the alps it drinks the living light, from which it draws the
beautiful red colour one could mistake for young blood. It is the hope
and the joy of the mountains. It is permanently occupied with
conserving the forest ... It serves a thousand causes." Jules Michelet Larches
can become up to 800 years old. Therefore it comes as no surprise that
old larches often were considered holy trees, like for instance the
larch of Nauders, which was felled as late as 1855.
Together with the stone pine, the larches form the highest forest
layer. As pioneer trees they also grow on stony ground. The needles,
which are thrown off each year, are easily decomposed and do therefore
not contribute to hyperacidity of the earth. This promotes alpine
farming, and one will often find alpine meadows interspersed with
larches.
Picture: Jaume Saint-Hilaire, Jean Henri
(1828-1833): La flore et la pomone françaises : histoire et figure en
couleur, des fleurs et des fruits de France ou naturalisés sur le sol
français. 6 v., 544 leaves of plates : ill. (col. printed) ; 29 cm. ©
Paris : Chez l'auteur, rue Furstemberg. [Ausschnitt]. © 1995-2003
Missouri Botanical Garden, Rare Books
http://ridgwaydb.mobot.org/mobot/rarebooks/
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