Larch

[ILUVSPACCE]

Question: How did the larch tree become a species and evolve into what it is today? For those who do not know it is a tree that looks coniferous in the summer/spring but loses it's needles in the fall like a deciduous tree. I ask this question because it is so much different than everything else in the tree kingdom with no obvious connections with other species.

 

[amshak]

The Larch tree ! Intresting .
The larch tree is able to endure ice cold temperatures in the winter, up to – 70°C ! In fact, the larch tree needs the cold to develop well and has been able to adapt to it for thousands of years. This is the reason for it losing its golden needles in the autumn.

 

[origin]

Question: How did the larch tree become a species and evolve into what it is today? For those who do not know it is a tree that looks coniferous in the summer/spring but loses it's needles in the fall like a deciduous tree. I ask this question because it is so much different than everything else in the tree kingdom with no obvious connections with other species.

There are many species of deciduous conifers (or as I like to call them deciduous evergreens). The Tamarac is the species in my neck of the woods and there is the cypress and one of the redwoods. It is just a one of the many adaptations that trees have made that resulted in their survival. It is no more unusual than an evergreen oak tree I suppose.

Look up deciduous conifers for more information.

 

[MeteorWayne]

IIRC, the narrow leaves are an adaptation to prevent dessication, IOW, to preserve moisture within the plant rather that having it released to the atmosphere.

 

[3488]

I think Wayne is correct.

It is worth noting that the coldest places on Earth are actually among the driest with the lowest humidty, so as Wayne says dessication is a huge problem.

It would make sense that Larch trees & other conifers to have needles rather than broad leaves as typically the Summer season is very short, as soon as broad leaves appear (think Maple, Oak, Ash, Horse Chesnut, etc), the tree would shed them, i.e goes straight from Spring to Autumn. Also producing needles uses less energy than producing leaves.

But the Larch is unique in being the only deciduous conifer tree. I wonder if it did evolve from a geographically specific broad leaf species??? Or could just simply be that it is best suited for that environment.

At the high latitudes although daylight may last 24 hours during the Summer, the Sun itself does not rise very high at Noon, so perhaps millions of needles on one tree is also more efficient at collecting the weak sunlight, as the Sun will appear broadside on at a greater range of angles than leaves.

Interesting subject.

Andrew Brown.