Larix is a genus of around 10 species of upright, deciduous, monoecious (with both male and female flowers), coniferous trees from coniferous forests of the Northern hemisphere. They have attractive young foliage and normally display brilliant autumnal colour. The needle-shaped foliage is borne in loose spirals on long shoots and in whorls on short shoots. Larix is a very popular species for bonsai, raw material and thick trunks are both relatively easy to obtain, it also has the advantage of its radical change in appearance of its foliage through the seasons. Its small cones that appear in spring are usually purple in colour before browning and persisting on the tree for a number of years before dropping. Growth in spring normally commences with the appearance of small whorls of bright green on the branches that resemble shaving brushes.