Identify by feature
Needles in bundles or tufts: pine, larch or cedar?
If the needles come in bundles of two or five, it is a pine (Scots pine, black pine or Weymouth pine); if they grow in dense tufts, it is a larch or a cedar.
9 species with this feature
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Scots pine Pinus sylvestris
Conifer
Needles in 2s in a small sheath, 3–7 cm long, blue-green, stiff and often slightly twisted.
Native
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Black pine Pinus nigra
Conifer
Needles in 2s, 8–16 cm, dark green, sturdy. In the Corsican form they are somewhat softer and twisted.
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Weymouth pine Pinus strobus
Conifer
Needles in 5s, 6–12 cm, thin and soft, with white lines on the inner face.
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European larch Larix decidua
Conifer
Needles 2–4 cm, soft and bright light green; in tufts of 20–40 on short spurs, single on young shoots.
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Japanese larch Larix kaempferi
Conifer
Needles 2–4 cm, slightly bluer green than in European larch, in tufts; they fall in autumn.
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Cedar Cedrus
Conifer
Needles 1.5–3.5 cm (deodar up to 5 cm), stiff and sharp; in tufts on short shoots, single on young shoots. Evergreen.
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Atlas cedar Cedrus atlantica
Conifer
Needles 1.5–2.5 cm, stiff and sharp, in tufts on short shoots and single on young shoots; green to silvery blue-grey (‘Glauca’). Evergreen.
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Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani
Conifer
Needles 2–3 cm, stiff and sharp, dark green to grey-green; in tufts on short shoots and single on young shoots. Evergreen.
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Deodar Cedrus deodara
Conifer
Needles 2.5–5 cm, the longest of the cedars, fairly soft, green to grey-green; in tufts on short shoots and single on young shoots. Evergreen.
Tip: Count the needles in a bundle: two in Scots pine and black pine, five in Weymouth pine. Tufts that fall in autumn belong to a larch; stiff, evergreen tufts to a cedar.