Although Larches aren’t native to Ireland (or Britain), it is relatively commonly planted in Ireland. The European Larch is native to mountains of central Europe, upland areas in France, Germany and Austria. Larches have woody trunks & stems, needle leaves and a waxy coating that keeps the leaves from losing water which is all characteristic of conifers. But, unlike other evergreen Conifers, they are deciduous, meaning they drop their leaves for part of the year. It is known to be the only deciduous conifer in Europe & the majority of deciduous conifers in other continents are related to them in one way or another.