Larch: the naked conifer

The larch is the only conifer that sheds its needles and, to me, the most poetic. Conifers (think Christmas tree) are, normally, *evergreen*: they do not shed their leaves (needles) in the fall like other ("deciduous") trees do. Visit any forest during a snowy winter - the only green trees will be conifers. The larch is unique in that, though a conifer, it turns naked for the winter. At the very last point before her needles drop, they turn golden & the tree looks majestic. The needles, which are very fine & not prickly at all, cling so tenuously that the slightest breeze creates a bronze rain. I have not yet seen the Taiga, the endless expanse of larches in northern Russia & Siberia, but it is on my list... tamarack