Golden Larch                      soo-do-LAR-iks a-MABa-lis

• Deciduous conifer, tree, slow growing, 30-50(120) ft [9-15(41) m] tall, spread of 20-40 ft (6-12 m), crown broadly conical, branches horizontally whorled.  Needles linear, soft, 3-7 cm long and 2-3 mm wide, keeled below with two distinct stomatal bands, they are arranged spirally, widely spaced on long shoots, and in a dense whorl on the short (spur) shoots, light green, orange-yellow in fall.  Cones solitary, at first bluish with a waxy coating, later ovate (artichoke-shaped), 5-7 cm long and 4-5 cm wide, ripen to a golden-brown and disintigrate in fall to release the seeds. ripening the first year.
• Sun.
• Hardy to USDA Zone (4)5   Native to eastern China, in small areas in the mountains of southern Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and eastern Sichuan, at altitudes of 100-1500 m.
• amabilis: lovely.
• Silverton, Oregon: The Oregon Garden