Both Pinaceae

Larix decidua vs Pseudotsuga menziesii

These two are not on this page because a keyword tool suggested them. They are here because our own identification model genuinely mistook one for the other, on real photographs, 4 times. We publish the rate, and then we tell you what actually separates them.

Confused 4x by our model Method published

Side by sidefigs. a and b

Larix decidua, photographed by CorentinD
fig. a CorentinD, CC BY 4.0

Larix decidua

European larch
Pseudotsuga menziesii, photographed by Shane Johnson
fig. b Shane Johnson, CC0 1.0

Pseudotsuga menziesii

Douglas-fir

How often our model gets it wrong measured, not estimated

When the plant was The model said How often
Larix decidua Pseudotsuga menziesii 4 of 20 (20%)

The confusion runs one way only. The model mistakes Larix decidua for Pseudotsuga menziesii, but not the reverse.

Measured on 38,949 openly licensed, research-grade photographs. Full method and dataset.

What actually separates themon the record

Family Both Pinaceae. The family does not separate them.
Genus Larix versus Pseudotsuga.

What we do not have yet: the diagnostic morphological character that a botanist would key on, from a source we can cite. We are not going to invent one. Until we have it, this page tells you the two are genuinely confusable, how often, and what the taxonomy and the flowering data do and do not settle.

Both recordsfull pages