Larches are different from most conifers because they’re deciduous–they lose their needles each fall. In addition, their needles are arranged differently from those of most conifers; on current-year twigs they’re borne singly, but on older twigs they arise in dense clusters from stout, woody pegs that resemble wooden barrels. Only 10 species of larch occur in the world, mostly in cold parts of the northern hemisphere. Only western larch and subalpine larch grow in the Pacific Northwest. Larches are commonly called tamaracks, especially by people whose roots are in eastern North America.
Needles are deciduous. They fall from the tree in winter, turning brilliant yellow before they fall.
Needles are about 1″ long and typically grow in dense clusters (20-40) attached to short woody shoots (called spur shoots).
Needles are soft to the touch–never sharp or spiny. Current-year needles are borne singly on slender pegs.
Small, woody cones (1-2″ long).
The photos above were taken on October 30th on a drive Dear and I took out Addy-Gifford Rd. to Bluecreek Rd. The following photos are from 2012 on our son’s property in Chewelah.
I was happy to find that we have Larches on our new piece of property.
We did not have any random trick or treaters coming to our door last night but we did have our Colville family drop in for some treats and our little Miss Addy was sporting goofy smiles for the evening. What a joy to have these drop in visits!
Happy November to all of you!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 