‘Tis the season of fall colours and my favourite is the larch, a deciduous conifer.
When this posting was made, I believed the trees shown here were alpine larches. Doug Thorburn, a man who knows his trees, assures me that, no, they are western larches. The title and text has been corrected to show this.
The colours of the western larch spill down the mountain side.
When trees are viewed across the valley, contrast and colour is muted.
The western larch is brilliant when seen close by.
Magnificent
Hi Alistair,
Thank you for the beautiful larch photos – I miss those trees. It’s a treat to see these old friends again. We had great fall colours up here this year, but most of the leaves have now dropped. Awaiting the snow…
Thank you so much Alistair.
I think the larch trees are one of the Kootenay beauties I miss the most.
I live back on the West Coast now. But the glory of the larch has stayed with me.
Suzanne
I have always loved fall and part of the reason is the glory of the larch in full colour. It reminds me of growing up in Trinity Valley, north of Lumby. Now that I live in Cranbrook I am able to enjoy the larch-filled valleys in all their splendor. This year seems to be particularly spectacular. Thanks for the photos.
Perhaps your friend, Doug Thorburn, could enlighten us as to whether the Lyle Larch is the same as the alpine larch or is different. Thanks!
Jim, I was unaware that you had left the West for the East Kootenay. Doug can weigh in on this, but I note that the scientific name for alpine larch is Larix lyallii, and that some sites consider lyall larch to be another name for alpine larch, so I expect you are correct. Here is a picture of an alpine larch (a.k.a, lyall’s larch) I took a few years ago on Meadow Mountain.
I just wrote down….the colours of the western larch spill down the mountain side
It’s a poem, thank you for both