Douglas Fir

Douglas fir: see pine.

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Douglas fir

Cone of a Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

(credit: Grant Heilman)

Any of about six species of coniferous evergreen timber trees (see conifer) that make up the genus Pseudotsuga, in the pine family, native to western North America and eastern Asia. Long, flat, spirally arranged yellow- or blue-green needles grow directly from the branch. The North American tree commonly called Douglas fir is P. menziesii (sometimes P. douglasii). Douglas firs may grow to 250 ft (75 m) tall and 8 ft (2.4 m) in diameter. One of the best timber trees in North America, it is also a popular ornamental and Christmas tree and is used for reforestation along the Pacific Coast.

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Douglas fir, Oregon pine, red fir, yellow fir

A strong, medium-density, medium- to coarse-textured softwood; widely used for plywood and as lumber and timber in construction work.

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Douglas Fir 

(Pseudotsuga menziesii’, better known by the incorrect name P. taxifolia), an evergreen coniferous tree of the family Pinaceae, named for the Scottish botanist D. Douglas (1798-1834). The trees grow 50-75 (100) m tall and 1.2 to 2 (4) m in diameter. The crown is cone-shaped. The needles are flat and stand out in all directions. The female cones are 7 to 10 cm long with rounded seed scales; the covering scales are narrow with a bifurcated tip and a well-developed central vein that extends in an awl-like fashion above the lobes. The tree suffers (and sometimes dies) from spring and autumn frosts and prolonged drought, but it is relatively tolerant of various types of soil. The Douglas fir begins to bear cones after ten to 25 years and can live up to 500 years. It grows wild along the Pacific coast of North America. In the USSR it is found in gardens and parks of the Caucasus and in the southern Ukraine. The wood is used in buildings, ships, furniture, and railroad cars. The bark contains tannins.

S. K. CHEREPANOV