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Chinese golden larch

Pseudolarix amabilis

Summary 4

Pseudolarix is a monotypic genus of conifer in the family Pinaceae. The sole species, Pseudolarix amabilis, is commonly known as the golden larch, though it is not a true larch (Larix), being more closely related to Keteleeria, Abies and Cedrus. It is native to eastern China, occurring in small areas in the mountains of southern Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and eastern Sichuan, at altitudes of 100–1,500 m (328–4,921 

Identifying Factors 5

Pseudolarix amabilis is one of the few deciduous members of Pinaceae; its leaves turn from bright green to brilliant golden yellow in the fall. They also have two stomatal bands on the underside. Its branches are dimorphic; the leaves in the short shoots are whorled. The female cones have a distinct resemblance to artichoke and are upright with soft, fragile scales. They disintegrate upon maturity. The male cones are in umbels.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) junipursa, all rights reserved, uploaded by junipursa
  2. Michael Kesl, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/12784.jpg
  3. (c) vikisuzan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/vikis/1869076719/
  4. Adapted by junipursa from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudolarix_amabilis
  5. (c) junipursa, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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