Larix decidua
European Larch
The one European softwood that will sit outside untreated, and the most decorative of the group. Hardest conifer KORENA lists, at the cost of fighting resin at every stage.
- Cultivé et récolté en Europe.
- Groupe botanique. Les résineux sont des conifères, les feuillus sont des arbres à feuilles larges.
- Famille botanique à laquelle appartient l’essence.
Être informé du prochain arrivageEssence de référence. Aucun plateau en stock pour le moment.
Convient-il à votre projet ?
Idéal pour
- Tabletops
- Exterior cladding
- Garden furniture
- Flooring
- Boat and dock work
Aucun plateau en European Larch dans la sélection actuelle
Essences similaires en stock
Aucun plateau en European Larch pour le moment. Ces essences conviennent aux mêmes projets et sont disponibles.
Soyez informé des arrivages en European Larch
Nous vous envoyons un e-mail lorsque de nouveaux plateaux en European Larch arrivent chez KORENA. Chaque plateau est unique, mieux vaut donc être prévenu rapidement.
Aspect du bois
Son aspect
The most visually striking of the European softwoods. Heartwood runs warm honey to a deep russet brown against narrow pale sapwood, and the boundary between the two is sharp and decorative. Growth rings are strongly marked because the latewood bands are dense and dark, which gives flatsawn faces a bold cathedral figure closer to a ring-porous hardwood than to spruce.
- Honey to russet brown heartwood, deepening with UV exposure
- Narrow pale cream sapwood in sharp contrast
- Strongly marked growth rings with dark dense latewood bands
- Hard for softwood; visible growth rings.
Travail du bois
Son travail en atelier
Most hand and machine operations give good results, and larch is stiff and strong enough to feel substantial under the tool. The complication is resin. Natural resins gum up saw blades and clog abrasives, and the problem worsens as the wood warms during a cut. Keep blades clean, take breaks in long rips, and expect to clear the sole of a plane more often than usual. The dense latewood bands can also tear out where grain rises.
Finition
Resin is again the issue. Wipe the surface with denatured alcohol or acetone before finishing to lift surface resin, or oil finishes may stay tacky in patches. Once clean it takes oil beautifully and the colour deepens to a rich amber. For exterior work, a penetrating oil renewed annually outperforms film finishes, which crack and lift on a wood this dimensionally active outdoors.
Séchage
Slower and more troublesome than spruce or fir. Larch is prone to distortion and to surface checking if dried too fast, and the high resin content means a hot kiln schedule will drive resin to the surface where it sets sticky. Air drying followed by a low temperature kiln is the standard route for slab stock. Expect around 12.5 percent volumetric shrinkage, and note that internal stress from poor drying shows up as spring and bow once the slab is ripped.
De combien va-t-il bouger ?
Le bois gonfle et se rétracte en largeur selon que l’air devient plus humide ou plus sec. Estimez le mouvement saisonnier d’un plateau en European Larch avant de concevoir les fixations.
Mouvement saisonnier attendu
environ 9,4 mm
Fixez le plateau avec des taquets ou des équerres à trous oblongs, sans colle ni vis trop serrées.
Modèle de retrait linéaire : largeur × (retrait ÷ 28 % de point de saturation des fibres) × variation saisonnière d’humidité. Utilise un retrait tangentiel de 8,2 % pour le European Larch. Il s’agit d’une estimation de conception, pas d’une garantie.
Son prix
Sécurité et origine
- Cultivé et récolté en Europe.
- Statut sur la Liste rouge de l’UICN : évaluation mondiale de la conservation de cette essence.
Species within the Larix genus have documented cases of skin irritation, hives and skin lesions, though severe reactions remain uncommon. Resin contact is the usual trigger rather than dust alone. Gloves during handling of freshly cut stock and normal extraction during machining are appropriate.
Lire le guide completNotes détaillées sur la figure, l’évolution de la couleur, le travail et la stabilité.
What European Larch actually is#
Larix decidua is the conifer that drops its needles. That deciduous habit is the visible oddity, but the useful consequence is in the timber: larch lays down dense, resin-rich latewood in a way that no spruce or fir does, and the result is a softwood that behaves in several respects like a light hardwood.
It is the hardest conifer in the KORENA catalogue at 3,290 N on the Janka scale, which puts it above every pine and fir here and roughly level with small-leaved lime. It is the only one rated durable enough to go outdoors untreated. And it is by some distance the most decorative, with a heartwood and sapwood contrast and a ring figure that reward flatsawing.
The trade-off is resin, and resin complicates every stage from ripping to finishing.
Reading a larch slab#
Two things drive the value of a larch slab: ring spacing and the heartwood to sapwood ratio.
Ring spacing is the durability signal. Slow-grown Alpine larch from high altitude puts down rings a millimetre or two apart, with a high proportion of dense dark latewood. That material is genuinely durable outdoors and considerably stiffer. Fast-grown lowland plantation larch can have rings five or six millimetres apart, much less latewood, and measurably worse durability. The two look related but do not perform alike. If the piece is going outside, ring count is the number to ask about.
Questions des acheteurs
Questions fréquentes des acheteurs
Can European Larch be used outdoors untreated?
Yes, within limits. It is rated moderately durable, which is the best of the European softwoods KORENA lists and good enough for cladding, decking and garden furniture without preservative. Ground contact is a different matter and will shorten its life considerably. Slow grown Alpine stock with tight rings outperforms fast grown plantation larch noticeably.
Why do my saw blades gum up cutting larch?
Natural resin content, which is also what gives larch its durability. The resin softens with the heat of cutting and deposits on the blade. Clean blades with a resin solvent between operations, feed at a steady rate rather than forcing the cut, and clear plane soles regularly. It is a nuisance rather than a real obstacle.
How hard is larch compared to oak?
Larch is 3,290 N on the Janka scale against 4,980 N for European oak, so meaningfully softer but by a long way the hardest softwood in this catalogue. It is roughly on a par with small-leaved lime and harder than every pine and fir here. For a tabletop it is a reasonable compromise between weight and durability.
Why is my oil finish staying tacky?
Propriétés mécaniques
Données techniques
Valeurs de référence publiées. Lorsque les sources divergent, la plage est indiquée et la valeur courante sert aux échelles ci-dessus.
| Densité (kg/m³)Masse par mètre cube à environ 12 % d’humidité. Un bois plus lourd est généralement plus dur et plus résistant. | 575 kg/m³ |
|---|---|
| Dureté Janka (N)Force nécessaire pour enfoncer à moitié une bille d’acier dans le bois. Mesure standard de la résistance à l’enfoncement. | 3,290 N |
| MOR : module de rupture (MPa)Résistance à la flexion : charge à laquelle une poutre casse. | 90 MPa |
| MOE : module d’élasticité (GPa)Rigidité en flexion : fléchissement d’une étagère ou d’un plateau sous une charge. | 11.8 GPa |
| Retrait radialRetrait perpendiculaire aux cernes, du bois vert au bois anhydre. Les planches sur quartier travaillent dans ce sens. | 4.2 % |
| Retrait tangentielRetrait dans le sens des cernes. Les planches sur dosse et la plupart des plateaux travaillent dans ce sens. |
