I once puchased 25 or so Larch seedlings. (Today these trees approach 25 feet high (8 metres)). They all appear to be classic European Larch (Larix decidua) except one! The "oddball" has scales that are curled over (even exposing the wings of the seeds within the cone). The wings are curled over against the scale as well. The branchlets do not droop. There is a blue cast to the foliage (rather than the green cast in the European). As well the tree is fuller, bushier and the clusters of needles are more numerous. The tree and its cones are healthy and the cones are full of seed so I don't think i am looking at insect damage or something of a pathogenic nature. See attached photos. I have included a L. decidua cone for comparison.
It may be Larix kaempferi which is described as follows in Krussmann's Manual of Cultivated Conifers: Japanese Larch. Tree, to 30 m hight, bark red-brown, exfoliating in narrow strips, branches spreading horizontally (not nodding), young shoots reddish brown, furrowed, often pruinose, pubescent to glabrous, short shoots thinck, short, reddish with 40-50 leaves; leaves 20-35 mm long, soft, blue-green on both sdes, flat above, keeled beneath and with 2 white stomatal bands of 5 lines, fall color golden-yellow; cones oval at first, about 2-3 cm long, later rosette-form with the reflexed seed scales. The description goes on. Compare this description to your specimen and hopefully it matches! Raakel
Thanks, especially to Raakel. I have had a chance to examine this tree again and it does appear to be a Japanese larch, actually quite a nice tree (for a larch : ) ).
