Index / Search / Larix kaempferi

§1 Plant

Larix kaempferi (Lam.) Carrière

vernacular Japanese larch — species · Pinaceae

USDA: LAKA2
GBIF: 2686157
Rank: species

Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) — Platephotograph · Marco MussitaCC BY source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Tree
Duration: Perennial
Group: Gymnosperm
Family: Pinaceae Spreng. ex Rudolphi
Genus: Larix

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Introduced

§2b

County-level range

· 7 counties across 3 states/territories

Legend Native · 0 Introduced · 7 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: None
Shade: High
Moisture use: Medium
Fire: None
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: None
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -38 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 180 min.
Precipitation: 25–80 in/yr
pH range: 6–7.5
Root depth: 20 in min.
Fertility need: Low
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Single Stem
Growth rate: Rapid
Lifespan: Long
Mature height: 98 ft
Height @ 20 y: 20 ft
Foliage texture: Fine
Foliage colour: Dark Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Red
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Spring
Seed abundance: High
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 118,080
Propagation: seed, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: Yes
Browse palatability: Low
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: Yes
Fuelwood: Medium
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 7 counties across 3 states/territories.

New Jersey view state ↗ 1 I ▾

Warren 34041

New York view state ↗ 2 I ▾

Pennsylvania view state ↗ 4 I ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/LAKA2 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2686157 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T05:06:36Z