The Larch

The Larch is a tall, coniferous, type of pine tree - growing to almost fifty metres in height. Most conifers are evergreens however the larch is deciduous, dropping its needles in the autumn.

Cedar trees - the cedrus (which is often termed the 'true cedar') - are evergreens.

Larch branch

Larch trees are grown mainly for timber and they have few other uses at all, even though they are usefully waterproof without treatment. All the same, they are not recommended as building materials in free standing walls close to wet ground because they are susceptible to rising damp and all of the attendant problems associated with that.

There are numerous trees called 'cedars' but these range across several different species - although all of them have aromatic wood. Cedars contain a lot of inflammable oils in their needles and bark and are consequently regarded as a fire hazard in summer. 

The Eastern Red Cedar, is really a species of juniper native to eastern North America.

Certain kinds of Chinese cedar are highly favored in China for coffin manufacture, and consequently they have almost been over-exploited out of existence.

Eastern Red Cedar

Real Chinese cedar coffins these days are highly-prized, luxury items much sought after by wealthy Chinese.

Korean chests, are also made from cedar wood. 

Camphor wood is also from an evergreen tree, but this is actually a type of Laurel tree, not pine.