Conifer Trees Database

Description. Golden larch is a deciduous coniferous tree that grows to mature heights of 100 to 135 feet (30 - 40 m) tall; with a broadly conic crown.

• The shoots are dimorphic, with long shoots and short shoots similar to a larch, though the short shoots are not so markedly short, lengthening about 0.2 inch (5 mm) annually.
  
• The leaves are bright green, measuring 1.2 to 2.4 inches (3 - 6 cm) long and 0.08 in 0.12 inch (2 - mm) thick, with two glaucous stomatal bands on the underside. Needles turn a brilliant golden yellow before falling in the autumn, hence the common name. The leaves are arranged spirally, widely spaced on long shoots, and in a dense whorl on the short shoots.
• The seed cones are distinctive, superficially resembling a small globe artichoke, measuring 1.6 to 2.8 inches (4 - 7 cm) long and 1.6 to 2.4 inches (4 - 6 cm) broad, with pointed triangular scales. They mature about 7 months after pollination, when (like fir and cedar cones) they disintegrate to release the winged seeds.
  
• The pollen cones, as in Keteleeria, are produced in umbels of several together in one bud.

Distribution. This conifer is native to eastern China, occurring in small areas in the mountains of southern Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and eastern Sichuan provinces, found growing at elevations of 350 to 5,000 feet (100 - 1,500 m) above sea level.

Golden larch is a very attractive ornamental tree for parks and large gardens. Unlike the true larches, it is very tolerant of summer heat and humidity, growing very successfully in the southeastern United States where most larches and firs do not succeed. In Europe, growth is most successful in the Mediterranean region with notable specimens in northern Italy; further north in the United Kingdom it will grow, but only very slowly due to the cooler summers.

This conifer has earned the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.