The larches are coniferous trees, like pine trees, as they have needles instead of leaves, and their seeds grow in cones. However, unlike evergreen trees, larch needles are deciduous. Come fall, the larches turn golden. To save nutrients for later use, as temperatures cool and days become shorter, the chemical components in the needles that photosynthesize—specifically, those that create sugars from carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight—begin to break down. These chemicals, mostly nitrogen, are stored elsewhere in the tree. It is during this process that the needles of the larch trees become golden-coloured, a transformation that lasts two to three weeks, depending on the weather.
