Everything about Douglas-fir totally explained
Douglas-fir is the common name applied to
coniferous trees of the
genus Pseudotsuga in the family
Pinaceae. There are five species, two in western
North America, one in
Mexico and two in eastern
Asia. The Douglas-firs gave 19th century botanists problems due to their similarity to various other conifers better known at the time; they've at times been classified in
Pinus,
Picea,
Abies,
Tsuga, and even
Sequoia. Because of the distinctive cones, Douglas-firs were finally placed in the new genus
Pseudotsuga (meaning "false
Tsuga") by the
French botanist
Carrière in 1867.
The common name honours
David Douglas, the
Scottish botanist who first introduced the tree into cultivation in 1826. Douglas is known for introducing many North American native conifers to
Europe. The
hyphen in the common name indicates that Douglas-firs are not true firs; for example they're not members of the genus
Abies.
The Douglas-firs are medium-size to large or very large
evergreen trees, to 20-100 m tall. The
leaves are flat and needle-like, generally resembling those of the
firs. The female
cones are pendulous, with persistent scales (unlike true firs), and are distinct in having a long tridentine (three-pointed)
bract that protrudes prominently above each scale.
Douglas-firs are used as food plants by the
larvae of some
Lepidoptera species including
Autumnal Moth,
Bordered White,
The Engrailed,
Pine Beauty,
Turnip Moth and the
gelechiids Chionodes abella and
Chionodes periculella which have both been recorded on
P. menziesii.
A Californian
Native American myth explains that each of the three-ended bracts are a tail and two tiny legs of the
mice who hid inside the scales of the tree's cones, which was kind enough to be the enduring sanctuary for them during forest fires.
Species and varieties
By far the best-known is the very widespread and abundant
North American species
Pseudotsuga menziesii, a taxonomically complex species divided into two major subspecies (treated as distinct species by some botanists);
Coast Douglas-fir or "Green Douglas-fir", on the
Pacific coast; and
Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir or "Interior Douglas-fir", in the interior west of the continent extending as far inland as
Calgary,
Alberta. The latter is in turn divided into two varieties, "Blue Douglas-fir" or "Colorado Douglas-fir" (var.
glauca) in the southern Rocky Mountains, and "Gray Douglas-fir" or "Fraser River Douglas-fir" (var.
caesia) in the northern Rocky Mountains. The species as a whole is generally known as simply "Douglas-fir", or as "Common Douglas-fir"; other less widely used names include "Oregon Douglas-fir", "Douglas Tree", and "Oregon Pine". It is the
state tree of
Oregon.
Douglas-fir can attain heights of . That was the height of the tallest tree (of any species) ever well-documented, the Mineral Tree (
Mineral, Washington), measured several times between 1911 and 1925 by Richard McCardle, a University of Washington forester. The volume of that tree was . The tallest extant individual is the Brummitt Fir (
Coos Bay, Oregon) at . Only
Coast Redwood grow taller.
The specific name,
menziesii, is after
Archibald Menzies, a Scottish physician and rival
naturalist to
David Douglas, who first discovered the tree on
Vancouver Island in 1791. Away from its native area, it's also extensively used in
forestry as a
plantation tree for
timber in
Europe,
New Zealand, southern
South America and elsewhere. It is also
naturalised throughout
Europe (Austria with Liechtenstein, Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Portugal, Poland, Romania, and Sweden),
Chile (called commonly
Pino Oregón) and
New Zealand, sometimes to the extent of becoming an
invasive species subject to control measures.
All of the other species are of restricted range and little-known outside of their respective native environments, and even there are often rare and only of very scattered occurrence, occurring in mixed forests; all are listed as being of unfavourable
conservation status.
North America
Asia
Japanese Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga japonica
Chinese Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga sinensis var. sinensis
Uses
Douglas-fir wood is used for structural applications that are required to withstand high loads. It is used extensively in the construction industry. Other examples include its use for homebuilt aircraft. Very often, these aircraft were designed to utilize Sitka Spruce, which is becoming increasingly difficult to source in aviation quality grades.
Douglas-fir are also the most common Christmas trees in the United States where they're sold alongside true firs like Noble and Grand. Douglas-fir Christmas trees are usually trimmed to a near perfect cone instead of left to grow naturally like Noble and Grand.
Diseases
Trivia
The tallest tree in the United Kingdom is a Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). The tree, growing in Reelig Glen by Inverness is called Dughall Mor and stands at 64 m. It was measured in 2005 by Tony Kirkham and Jon Hammerton from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the late Jim Paterson from The Tree Register and David Jardine of The Forestry Commission.[3]
On May 14 2001, a Douglas-fir was planted in honor of Douglas Adams after his death on May 11 2001. They are also sometimes planted on Towel Day.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Douglas-fir'.
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