The Tree
This is a medium sized deciduous, coniferous tree ranging in size from 20m to 40m tall with a diameter of 1m or slightly more. In favourable situations a long, clean, cylindrical bole for two-thirds of its length can be achieved.

The Timber
The heartwood is pale reddish-brown to brick-red in colour, sharply defined from the narrow, lighter-coloured sapwood. It is a very resinous wood, with clearly marked annual rings. It has a straight grain, a fine, uniform texture and is rather heavy, weighing 590 kg/m3 when dried, it is likely that plantaion grown L.sibirica and that grown in more southerly Europe is of lower density. Its heartwood is listed as moderately durable, and its narrow sapwood means a high proportion of heartwood can be recovered for use.

Drying
Difficult to dry due to its high resin content. Therefore it should be dried slowly to prevent checking and other drying defects.

Strength
Likely to be similar to European larch which is about 50% harder than Scots pine and slightly stronger in bending and toughness. The strength values for slow grown L. sibirica material are likely to be slightly higher than for faster grown plantation sourced material.

Working Qualities
Similar to European larch in that it saws, machines and finishes well but it tends to split on nailing and therefore drilling is recommended particularly at board ends.