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larch

Larix · Pinaceae · all Larix records · Wikipedia

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Form: tree
Region: China; Japan
Rated in: California; Global

On this lot

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Mixed evidence — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions
Fire ecology context
Placement evidence: 1 source placement record; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: California; Global
Maintenance

Typed publication scope: 1 scope across 1 cited fire source

Defensible Space Landscaping in the Urban/Wildland Interface: A Compilation of Fire Performance Ratings of Residential Landscape Plants · Official scoped edition
- CA; partial normalized coverage · 1997-07-01
  The UC Forest Products Laboratory says the guide covers properties of common California landscaping plants and was prepared for California fire agencies. FireApproved publishes 130 exact owners at historical California publication scope. The report is a 1997 compilation, not a current endorsement, site rating, or independent test of every row.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution
Native range
Introduced / established
USDA hardiness

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status
Seed-list status
Reported invasive here
Broader regional context
Federal context

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

Defensible Space Landscaping in the Urban/Wildland Interf…: Chapter 4, Landscape Vegetation Database [ucfpl-1997] (with its avoid rating)

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Avoids (1)

Corroboration (1 rows from 1 source)

Defensible Space Landscaping in the Urban/Wildland Interface: A Compilation of Fire Performance Ratings of Residential Landscape Plants — University of California Forest Products Laboratory · Internal Report 36.01.137 (July 1997) · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: ucfpl-berkeley

“Not recommended by 3 references for use in high fire risk areas.”

1997 Landscape Vegetation Database row: Larix spp. (Larch). Preserved UCFPL transcription marker: U3.

Listed without a rating (10)

Corroboration (10 rows from 1 source)

FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

10 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
- “calorific value (kcal/kg): 2928.25”
  
  FLAMITS record 3606; Combustibility measurement; plant part bark; fuel dead; predrying no; device thermal analyzer; site Gani2007-1; sampling ND. Primary study Gani2007: Gani, A., & Naruse, I. (2007). Effect of cellulose and lignin content on pyrolysis and combustion characteristics for several types of biomass. Renewable energy, 32, 649-661.
- Primary study Hao2020: Hao, H., Chow, C. L., & Lau, D. (2020). Effect of heat flux on combustion of different wood species. Fuel, 278, 118325.
  
  Shared row context: plant part wood; fuel dead; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Hao2020-1; sampling ND.
  - Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.
    - “time to flaming (s): 1215”
      
      FLAMITS record 19128.
    - “time to flaming (s): 65”
      
      FLAMITS record 19129.
    - “time to flaming (s): 25”
      
      FLAMITS record 19130.
  - Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement.
    - “energy flux (kW/m²): 117.4”
      
      FLAMITS record 19137.
    - “energy flux (kW/m²): 127.1”
      
      FLAMITS record 19138.
    - “energy flux (kW/m²): 261.1”
      
      FLAMITS record 19139.
    - “mass loss rate (g/s): 0.02”
      
      FLAMITS record 19146.
    - “mass loss rate (g/s): 0.07”
      
      FLAMITS record 19147.
    - “mass loss rate (g/s): 0.08”
      
      FLAMITS record 19148.

Fire-resistant trees instead

post oak
Quercus stellata

northern red oak
Quercus rubra

Gambel oak
Quercus gambelii

American basswood
Tilia americana

oak
Quercus spp.

Dahurian larch
Larix gmelinii

Last verified 2026-08-25. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

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Larix (Larch). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/larix/. Last verified 2026-08-25.