DOUGLAS FIR
pseudotsuga menziesii

• also known as Coast Douglas-fir, Oregon Pine, Oregon Douglas-fir, Douglas Tree, Interior Douglas-fir
• this is not a fir at all but 'Pseudotsuga' or "False Hemlock"
• named after the Scottish botanist, David Douglas, who introduced many of BC's native conifers to Europe

UNIQUE FEATURES:

• distinctive three-forked bracts between the scales on the cones

LOCATION:

• southern mainland coast, Vancouver Island
• an interior variety is found throughout southern and central BC

SIZE:

• can reach up to 85 metres in height on the coast and 42 metres in the interior

CONES:

• 5 to 11 cm long
• green when young, turning to brown as they age
• papery scales, with three pronged bracts (resembling mouse hind legs and tail) in between them
• have winged seeds
• seeds are eaten by birds and small animals

NEEDLES:

• flat with pointed tips
• bright yellowish-green with single groove on upper surface
• paler colour on lower surface
• spirally arranged so appear to stand out around the twig

BARK:

• smooth, grey-brown, blistered when young
• furrowed, thick, dark reddish-brown ridges as the tree ages
• bears scrape off the bark to eat the sap layer beneath

WOOD CHARACTERISTICS:

• dense, hard, stiff, durable, strong

USES:

• modern - heavy duty construction such as wharves, trestles, bridge parts and commercial buildings
• traditional - wood: fuel, fishing hooks, handles, snowshoes, fishtraps; boughs: floor coverings; seeds: eaten; twigs/needles: can exude a sugar like substance which was prized

QUICK/EASY ID (identification) for DOUGLAS FIR

• cones: forked
• needles: flat, fragrant, friendly (the boughs are soft to the touch when you run your hand up and down)
• bark: furrowed