INSTYTUT DENDROLOGII

Abstract: It is commonly known that Japanese larch, Larix kaempferi was first introduced in Europe in Great Britain in 1861. In the presence of European larches, L. decidua it was not long before the first hybrids between these species, called Dunkeld larches (Larix × marschlinsii), emerged there. It was found that there were several hybrid larch trees in Estonia that sprouted before one of their parent species was introduced in Europe. One of the oldest Dunkeld larches growing in Tallinn is about 210 years old. The radial growth of three Dunkeld larches in Estonia (in the cities of Pärnu and Tallinn and in the manor park of Suure-Kambja) and the determination of their age by cumulative growth graphs are discussed, with consideration given to the available knowledge on the introduction of Japanese larch. The conclusion is that there may have existed earlier alternative introduction routes of Japanese larch into northern Europe via Russia.

Additional key words: cumulative growth, dendrochronology, history of introduction, Larix decidua, Larix kaempferi, tree age