Douglas-fir is one of the tallest and most important timber trees in the world, and is named for a botanist, David Douglas, and not for being a fir.
Identifying douglas-fir
Scientific name: Pseudotsuga menziesii
How to recognise it
- Flat, soft needles that spiral around the twig, with two pale lines beneath.
- Hanging cones with three-pointed bracts sticking out beyond the scales, said to look like the tail and back feet of a mouse.
- Sharp, pointed, reddish-brown buds shaped like a spindle.
- Bark smooth with resin blisters when young, thick and corky with deep furrows when old.
Why not a fir?
The genus name, Pseudotsuga, means false hemlock. Douglas-fir is neither a true fir nor a hemlock, but its own genus. True fir cones stand upright.
Range
It grows on the Pacific coast and in the Rocky Mountains, in two forms: coastal Douglas-fir grows very tall and fast, and Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir is smaller and more drought-tolerant.
Use and Christmas trees
Douglas-fir is a major timber tree and a popular Christmas tree, especially in the Pacific north-west. It has also been planted in Britain and Europe for timber.