Trip to France

Two weeks ago, I went on a brief trip to the French Alps.
Unexpectedly, yet delightedly, I came across this:

Atlas Cedar (my photo)

An Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantica). A shame I didn't take more photos - as I was unsure if it was really a cedar when I seen it.
I am currently working on a guide for distinguishing many of the Conifers found in Ireland. While Cedars are very rare in Ireland, this event has made up my mind to include them for completeness.



Superficially, the leaves (needles) of Cedars look like those of larch - because they both are attached in bunches to the twigs (I describe this as though the needles are exploding out of holes in the branches). However, the leaves of Larch are more green (compared to the Cedar's bluish green needles) and are lost in the winter, thus they tend to be less firm than those of the Cedar. However, there are many other differences, such as the cones - those of the Cedar being bigger than eggs, while the Larch's are little bigger than a cherry. Also, the bark is rather different.

Larch Twig (image by Rosser1954)