Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Introduced into Britain in 1861, Japanese larch trees are now widely planted, and most of the larch forests in Wales comprise this species or a hybrid of the European Larch and the Japanese Larch. Apart from its greater vigour and disease resistance, this tree differs from European Larch, Larix decidua, in having slightly longer blue-green needles and a purple tinge to the twigs.
Another distinguishing feature is that the tips of the cone scales are bent outwards and backwards, whereas cones of the European Larch do not have out-bent scale tips.
Get to know much more about trees, their evolution and structure and their relationships with fungi - including identification guides to the broadleaf and coniferous trees of Britain and Ireland plus more than 400 weird and wonderful fungi that interact with trees - in Pat O'Reilly's acclaimed new 450-page book Fascinated by Fungi
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