''Larix himalaica'', the Langtang larch, is a species of

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

in the genus ''

Larix Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high la ...

''. , it is treated as ''Larix potaninii'' var. ''himalaica'' by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

World Flora Online World Flora Online is an Internet-based compendium of the world's plant species. Description The World Flora Online (WFO) is an open-access database, launched in October 2012 as a follow-up project to The Plant List, with the aim of publishi ...

and other sources. It is native to the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

in Gyirong (Jilong) in southern

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

, from where it was described by the Chinese botanists

Wan-Chun Cheng Wan Chun Cheng or Zheng Wanjun (, 24 June 1908–25 July 1987) was a Chinese botanist. Initially one of the Chinese plant collectors who followed in the wake of the Europeans after 1920, he became one of the world's leading authorities on the taxo ...

and Li-kuo Fu in 1975, and the adjacent

Langtang Langtang Valley () also known as Lamtang Valley is a Himalayan valley in the mountains of north-central Nepal, known for its trekking routes and natural environment. Administrative The Langtang Valley lies in Rasuwa District, Rasuwa dist ...

and

Manaslu Manaslu (; , also known as Kutang) is the List of highest mountains#List, eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in west-central Nepal. Manaslu means "mountain of the ...

areas of north-central

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

; it occurs at altitudes of 3,000–3,500 m. It is a deciduous tree growing to 40 m tall. The foliage is similar to other larches, with single needles on long shoots and dense clusters on short shoots; they are 1–2.5 cm long, green in summer, and colour up yellow in autumn. The

cones In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, ...

are erect, 2–6.5 cm long, purple when immature, ripening dark brown, with typically 30–40 scales; the scales have long, exserted bracts.

Taxonomy

It is closely related to ''

Larix griffithii ''Larix griffithii'', the Sikkim larch, is a species of larch, native to the eastern Himalaya in easternmost Nepal, Sikkim, western Bhutan, and (in some interpretations) southwestern China ( Xizang, Yunnan). It grows at in altitude. It is some ...

'' from a short distance further east along the Himalaya in eastern Nepal eastwards. A genetic study in 2024 has shown that it should probably be treated as a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of ''L. griffithii'', but the necessary formal

new combination In Taxonomy (biology), biological taxonomy, a combinatio nova (abbreviated comb. nov. or n. comb.) refers to the formal renaming of an organism's scientific name when it is transferred to a different genus, reclassified within a different specie ...

has yet to be made. It has otherwise often been treated as a variety of ''

Larix potaninii ''Larix potaninii'' is a species of larch conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is found in China and Nepal. The one of southernmost species of the genus '' Larix'', the range of ''Larix potaninii'' extends southward almost to 27° N. Varieties , P ...

'', but this species from over 1,000 km further east in

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

and

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

in China proved significantly more distantly related in the 2024 study, so is not a parsomonious treatment.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q3845797, from2=Q28112363 himalaica Trees of Nepal Plants described in 1975 Deciduous conifers