Melbo Manor
From quiet farm to a small industrialized city within a few decades (1890–1920). The businessman and landowner Chr. Frederiksen was in the center of the activities. Visit the mansion that has been restored to it´s former glory.
Larch (Larix sp)
The pine family
Here the larch grows
- European larch forms forests in the Alps and Carpathians and rises to 2500 m above sea level. In Central Europe, England, and Scotland, it is planted as a forest and used for timber;
- There may have been larch in Scandinavia in the time just after the last ice age, but for unknown reasons it disappeared.
- The tree species grows only in the northern hemisphere and consists of 10-12 species.
- Siberian larch forms huge forests in Siberia, the forest border to the north.
- At the end of the 1700s, the first species of larch were introduced to Norway. Larch is among our most common introduced tree species
- European larch and Siberian larch have spread themselves by seed since they were brought into Norway for the first time.
Biology
- The Siberian larks, which grow on Hovedgården, will perhaps grow to 5-25 meters tall. The branches are often slightly bent upwards. The shoots have medium brown or greyish-yellow bark and smell good, young pine needles are light green. The pine cones are green or greenish-brown. Flowering is in June Larch has beautiful, blue-violet flowers.
- Characteristic of the larch genus is that, unlike other conifers, the trees shed their needles every autumn. The larch species follow the seasonal rhythm like the deciduous trees. Larch in autumn colors can be very decorative to look at with yellow needles.
How To Use
- Larch wood has many good qualities. The heartwood, which is the older, innermost part of the wood in a tree trunk, has a high content of resin and tar matter and is almost as durable as specially treated, pressure-treated pine.
- Larch wood is well suited for building structures. However, the timber quality is often reduced by crookedness in the trunk.
- Larch is also widely used as an ornamental tree.
- In Norway, 3 larch species have mainly been used for planting. There are European larch (Larix decidua), Siberian larch (Larix sibirica) and Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis). The name indicates where the tree has its natural habitat.
