Identify by feature
Conifer with soft needles: which one is it?
A conifer with soft needles that do not prick is usually a larch, a yew, a Douglas fir or a silver fir; if the soft needles grow in tufts and fall in autumn, it is a larch.
9 species with this feature
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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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Yew Taxus baccata
Conifer
Needles 1–3 cm, flat, soft and pointed; glossy dark green above, paler yellow-green below without white stripes. Usually in two rows.
NativePoisonous
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Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii
Conifer
Needles 2–3.5 cm, flat, soft and rounded at the tip, with two pale stripes underneath. When crushed they smell of orange or lemon.
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European silver fir Abies alba
Conifer
Needles 1.5–3 cm, flat and soft with a blunt or notched tip; two white stripes underneath. They are arranged in two rows to the sides (comb-like). The base is widened like a little sucker and leaves a round scar on a smooth twig.
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Nordmann fir Abies nordmanniana
Conifer
Needles 2–3.5 cm, flat, glossy dark green, with two white stripes underneath. They are dense, point forwards and cover the top of the twig.
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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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Dawn redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Conifer
Needles 1–3 cm, flat, soft and light green, opposite in two rows on short side shoots. Russet-brown in autumn.
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Swamp cypress Taxodium distichum
Conifer
Needles 1–2 cm, flat, soft, alternate in two rows on side shoots that fall with them in autumn. Autumn colour coppery brown.
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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: Flat needles with two white stripes underneath point to a silver fir or Douglas fir; dark green needles without white stripes and red berries to a yew. Take care: yew is poisonous.