唐松(からまつ)

からまつ
noun
Japanese larch
plant-tree
1. Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi)
A deciduous conifer native to the central Japanese mountains, distinctive for being one of the few Japanese conifers whose needles turn yellow and fall in autumn.
唐松(からまつ)の林(はやし)を歩(ある)いた。
I walked through a larch forest.
In autumn, the larches turn yellow.
長野県(ながのけん)の高原(こうげん)には広大(こうだい)な唐松(からまつ)の植林地(しょくりんち)が広(ひろ)がっている。
On the highlands of Nagano Prefecture, vast larch plantations extend in every direction.

Also written 落葉松(からまつ) (literally "falling-leaf pine"), which reflects the fact that — unlike most conifers — the karamatsu sheds its needles each autumn. Widely planted in Hokkaido and central Honshu for timber.

Similar words

  • 松(まつ): pine — general term; pines keep their needles year-round
  • 杉(すぎ): Japanese cedar — Japan's most planted timber tree; evergreen
  • 檜(ひのき): Japanese cypress — prized for construction; evergreen