Larix olgensis

Olga Bay larch or Olgan larch (Larix olgensis), a species of larch, is named after Olga Bay in the Sea of Japan. The common name in Chinese is 黄花落叶松 (pinyin: huang hua luo ye song). This species occurs in Central Sikhote-Alin, and rarely occurs in North Korea, and Jilin and eastern Heilongjiang provinces of China, between 500 and 1100 metres in elevation.

 

This deciduous coniferous tree, grows to 25-30 meters tall with a trunk reaching a meter in diameter at breast high with gray to gray-brown bark with flaking and scaly fissured bark. Its leaves are needle-like, dark-green, 1.5-3 cm long and 1 cm wide. The reddish purple or violet cones mature to light brown, sometimes tinged with purple, and range from 18 to 25 mm long. Pollination occurs in May with seeds maturing in Sep.-Oct. It grows in mountains and on moist slopes and in swamps. The timber has many uses in construction and for wood fiber and the truck is used to produce resin while the bark is used for tannins. Also Olga Bay larch is sometimes treated as a variety of Dahurian Larch Larix gmelinii var. olgensis (Ostenf. & Syrach). Larix olgensis is a vulnerable species.