European larchrory_middleton, CC BY 4.0
European larch
Norway sprucegwynmwilliams, CC BY 4.0
Norway spruce
Lookalikes

European larch or Norway spruce?

Both stand as green spires in the same plantations.

The quickest check

The quickest check is how the needles sit. European larch: many soft needles in a tuft on one knob. Norway spruce: one at a time, each on a woody peg. No leaves on the tree? Check the shoot in winter.

At a glance

Look atEuropean larchNorway spruce
How the needles sitMany soft needles in a tuft on one knobOne at a time, each on a woody peg
Shoot in winterBare and amber, studded with short woody spursStill in needle, dull orange with woody pegs

Two ways to tell them apart

How the needles sitLeaves
European larch: how the needles sitJarro Nevsbaru, CC BY 4.0
European larchMany soft needles in a tuft on one knob
Norway spruce: how the needles sitdawn2022, CC BY 4.0
Norway spruceOne at a time, each on a woody peg
Shoot in winterTwigs and buds
European larch: shoot in winterSusan Marley, CC BY 4.0
European larchBare and amber, studded with short woody spurs
Norway spruce: shoot in winterRandy A Nonenmacher, CC BY 4.0
Norway spruceStill in needle, dull orange with woody pegs
Think you can tell them apart now? Try the tree quiz: real photographs, and what gives each tree away.Take the quiz

The two trees

European larch

Larix decidua

European larch is a conifer that sheds its needles in autumn. Soft needles grow in tufts from small woody knobs on the twigs. Old cones stay on the bare branches all winter.

How to identify European larch →

Norway spruce

Picea abies

Norway spruce is the traditional Christmas tree. Its needles sit singly on tiny woody pegs and roll between finger and thumb. Its long cones hang straight down.

How to identify Norway spruce →

Their other lookalikes

European larchGinkgoEuropean larch or ginkgo?Quickest check: the leaf from a tuftNorway spruceJapanese larchNorway spruce or Japanese larch?Quickest check: where the needles join the shootNorway spruceScots pineNorway spruce or Scots pine?Quickest check: how the needles are set
In the app

See them side by side in Treely

  • Both trees, part by partLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed through the year
  • Every lookalike side by sideThe checks that settle it, for every pair people mix up
  • A short round each dayUntil you can tell them apart at a glance
  • The full GuideBoth trees written up in full, with where to find them
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Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.

Photographs: rory_middleton (CC BY 4.0), gwynmwilliams (CC BY 4.0), Jarro Nevsbaru (CC BY 4.0), dawn2022 (CC BY 4.0), Susan Marley (CC BY 4.0), Randy A Nonenmacher (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.