Larix occidentalis

Western larch is native to the western North America from southeastern British Columbia to the Alberta Rockies, south to Oregon and northern Utah. It is a spectacular, large, straight trunked tree, reaching up to 55 m tall, the tallest of the larches and a very valuable timber tree in its native range.

• Crown is narrow, conical, branches reaching out horizontally in natural stands.
• Deciduous needles are light, spine tipped, up to 5 cm long, bright green to blue-green, bunches of 15–30 per shoot. The deciduous foliage appears early in spring and remains clean until turning intense golden-yellow to orange in autumn before dropping off.
• Cones are upright, oval, up to 4 cm long, reddish brown, with reddish tips of bracts extending beyond the scales on younger cones. Lower side of scales is pubescent, maturing to light brown and curling slightly towards base of cone when open.
• Twigs are orange-brown, often hairy at first; bark is thick, red-brown to purple-gray bark, with flat, cinnamon plates with deep wide furrows between.