Leaf guide › Conifers
Tamarack and larch
Larix laricina, Larix occidentalis
The conifer that turns gold and drops its needles, like a hardwood in disguise.
Updated
- Fall color
- Yellow
- Turns
- Mid to late
- Leaves
- Needles in tufts on short spurs
- Size
- Needles about 1 in. long
- Found in
- Great Lakes & North Woods, New England & New York, Rockies, Pacific Northwest
How to recognize it
- Soft needles in tufts of 10 to 20 on short knobby spurs.
- Needles turn gold in fall, then fall off. The tree is bare all winter.
- Tamarack grows in bogs and wetlands across the North.
- Western larch grows on mountain slopes in Montana, Idaho, and the Northwest.
Easy to confuse with
Spruce and fir
Needles grow one at a time, not in tufts, and stay green all year.
Worth knowing
Larches are one of the few conifers that lose all their needles every year. In the North Cascades, golden subalpine larches draw crowds every October.
Common questions
What color does tamarack and larch turn in fall?
Tamarack and larch turns yellow in fall. The conifer that turns gold and drops its needles, like a hardwood in disguise.
When does tamarack and larch change color?
It colors from the middle to the later part of the local season.
How can you tell tamarack and larch from spruce and fir?
Spruce and fir: Needles grow one at a time, not in tufts, and stay green all year. Tamarack and larch: Soft needles in tufts of 10 to 20 on short knobby spurs.
Where does tamarack and larch grow?
In the lower 48, look for it in Great Lakes & North Woods, New England & New York, Rockies, Pacific Northwest.
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