Rex Trulove
One of the things that all conifers have in common is that the seeds are produced in cones. This is a comparison of the cones of a larch tree (Larix laricina) on the left and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) tree cones on the right. As can be seen, the cones are very similar.
The cones are one of the means of positively identifying the tree. For example, look closely at the cones of the Douglas fir. While Douglas firs aren’t true firs (implied by the “Pseudo…” part of the genus name), each of the cone scales has a bract that looks rather like the tail and rear legs of a squirrel jumping down a hole. This is distinctive and no other fir or pine has cones that look this way.
Although the larch doesn’t have those bracts, there is also no other fir or pine tree that has cones that look exactly like those of the larch.
This image also shows how the needles are arranged on the branches of fir trees, which makes it much easier to tell the difference between them and the larches, which has whorls of needles.
