LARCH

FITZROYA CUPRESSOIDES

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This native tree is known by the common names of Alerce, Lahuán or Lahual. Its scientific name is Fitzroya cupressoides (Molina) IM Johnst. and belongs to the Cupressaceae or Cupressaceae family.

The alerce or lahuán (Fitzroya cupressoides) is an evergreen tree that reaches a height of up to 45 m. It has a narrow crown with a pyramidal habit and a straight trunk whose diameter can exceed 4 m.

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In young and isolated trees, the branches reach the ground and as they reach greater development, they present a stem free of branches. The foliage is irregular, with thick, angular, open and even tortuous branches, with a columnar structure of the crown, adapted so that the snow runs off and does not accumulate.

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Its leaves are evergreen, scale-shaped and thin. Oval-oblong and concave in shape, they measure 2.5 to 3 mm long. Larch leaves have a curved apex and two whitish stripes or bands corresponding to a greater concentration of stomata on the underside of each leaf, as can be seen in the image.

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In very old trees, their branches are highly developed, reaching somewhat tortuous shapes and on it they support a wide range of biodiversity of epiphytes or plants that live on other plants, which are capable of living in the organic soil that forms on them thanks to to the accumulation of moss, lichens and organic matter. The wood of the larch has a dark brown to reddish brown heartwood, homogeneous, with very differentiated, thin and noticeably wavy growth rings. Its pronounced graining is notable for its fine texture. The sapwood, very differentiated from the heartwood, is generally thin and whitish-yellowish in color. The wood is of moderate weight, with a density close to 500 kg/m3 when dry. Its natural durability is remarkable, being highly resistant to attack by fungi and insects. The bark of the larch is reddish brown, moderately thick, fibrous in consistency, and has deep longitudinal grooves.

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