A crooked tree in a field with dry grass, coniferous trees in the background, and mountains partially obscured by mist.

This European larch is an exception among its kind. It sheds its needles in autumn, which turn yellow, red and brown before dropping. It is the only conifer in Europe to do this.

It is sometimes called the mountain oak, because of the exceptional wood it produces. Slow-growing, it is the most durable and strongest of the coniferous woods.

Rot-proof, it is used for boat design, roofing frames, shingles and railway sleepers.

You can also find this photo on other platforms:

Fujifilm X-H2s
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 10-24mm f/4.0 R OIS
31 mm (20.9 mm with crop factor)
ISO 100
ƒ/8
1/40 s
Map showing location of “The path to reach the sky is sometimes twisted” in Névache, France

Névache, France

Locate it on the interactive global map