The crown of a larch tree is always green, just as we know it from conifers. After many years of existence, it is finally showing us its fruits. The brown color is a great contrast, but the shape also makes them the most beautiful cones in the forest.
What does the fruit of a larch tree look like and when does it appear?
The fruit of the larch tree is a cone that is upright, light brown and egg-shaped when ripe. They only form when the tree becomes male, i.e. after 15-20 years in the free-standing area and 30-40 years in the existing tree. Cone production takes place in mast years that are 3-6 years apart.
Cones, the fruits of conifers
The larch is a conifer that belongs to the pine family. Fruit, as we know it from various fruit trees, is not to be expected from this type of tree. Instead, it is decorated with hard, woody cones. These are not an enrichment for our food, but they are wonderful decoration and craft materials.
Manhood is a long time coming
Visibility is a term from botany for the ability of trees to produce fruit. The onset of male fertility is species-specific and is also influenced by ecological factors. The manhood of a larch begins:
- free standing: aged 15-20 years
- in stock: aged 30-40 years
When a young larch is planted in your own garden, a lot of patience is required until the first cones can be admired.
Only mast years produce a lot of fruit
The larch tree does not cover its branches with cones every year. The reason is that fruit production is a strenuous activity that the tree can only achieve at intervals of many years. During this time, its growth stagnates.
The years in which a tree produces abundant fruit are called mast years, but are also known as seed years. For larch, there is an interval of 3-6 years between two mast years, depending on the altitude.
This is what larch cones look like
Larch flowers in spring, sometime between March and May. But it is not until the following year that the seeds mature and fly out. But the cones still remain attached to the tree. They fade over time and fall off the tree after about 10 years. They have the following characteristics:
- when ripe they stand upright
- are light brown and egg-shaped
- Length is 2.5 to 4 cm
- Width is 1.5 to 2 cm
- Seed scales are rounded and lie loosely
- they have fine striped patterns and brown hair
Tip
While the scales of the European larch are not or only slightly curved outwards, the cones of the so-called Japanese larch have seed scales that are strongly curved outwards.
