Douglas fir

A strong, medium-density, medium-textured softwood; widely used for plywood and lumber in construction.

ebony

Wood of a number of tropical species, usually distinguished by its dark color, durability, and hardness; used for carving and ornamental cabinetwork.

elm

A tough, strong, moderately high-density hardwood of brown color; often has a twisted interlocked grain; used for decorative veneer, piles, and planks.A softwood of the temperate climates including Douglas fir, white fir, silver fir, and balsam fir; used for framing and interior trim.

folded plate

A thin skin of plywood reinforced by purlins to form tructures of great strength.

glue-laminated arch

An arch made from layers of wood that are joined with adhesives. The glued joints transmit the shear stresses, so the structure acts as one piece capable for use in structural arches and long-span beams.

gum

A moderately high-density hardwood, whitish to gray-green in color and of uniform texture; used for low-grade veneer, plywood, and rough cabinet work.

hardboard

A dense smooth-surfaced composition board composed of highly compressed fibers; one such type is called Masonite®.

hardwood

Timber from all trees except the conifers, which are called softwood.

heartwood

The center portion of a tree trunk that is no longer growing or carrying the sap; often harder and denser.

hemlock

Wood of a coniferous tree; moisture-resistant, soft, coarse, and uneven-textured; it splinters easily and is inferior for construction use.

hickory

A tough, hard, strong wood; has high shock resistance and high bending strength.

laminated timber

Timber beam or arch manufactured from four or more layers of wood, usually about 1 inch thick, bonded together with waterproof adhesive.

larch

A fine-textured, strong, hard, straight-grained wood of a coniferous tree; heavier than most softwoods.

lath

Narrow strips of wood that serve as a base for plaster, usually nailed to studs in walls or rafters in ceilings.

limba

A straight-grained, fine-textured wood used for interior paneling.

locust

Wood of the locust tree; coarse-grained, strong, hard, decay-resistant, and durable.

mahogany

A straight-grained wood of intermediate density, pinkish to red-brown in color; used primarily for interior cabinetwork and decorative paneling.

maple

A hard, tough, moderately high-density wood, light to dark brown in color, with a uniform texture; used for flooring and wood trim.

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.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

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

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References in periodicals archive

"Those factors, in combination with lots of Douglas fir and with large springtime fungal spore production, have us where we are now."

advances in Coast Range Forest fungus

4 pieces of Douglas fir stud stock to 2" x 5" dimensions.

DUST BUSTER

Donald Culross Peattie writes about Douglas fir in A Natural History of Western Trees.

Majestic Douglas fir the leader in plywood

Chi-square tests were used to determine if the frequency of use of Douglas fir trees for nesting was significantly different from expected.

Habitat and microhabitat use by the red tree vole (Phenacomys longicaudus)

In oak areas, the focus will be on removing Douglas firs, Steel said.

Renewal getting started at park

However, despite this restraint, the nature of wood dominates the character of the spaces both inside and out, with yellow cedar rain-screen cladding and acoustic panelling, and over 250 laminated and faceted douglas fir columns.

Merritt distinction: within an area of previously untouched forest in British Columbia, a new technical institute seeks to merge aboriginal heritage and modern day sustainability

The building's classically designed lobby is finished with striking appointments, rich Douglas Fir wood paneling, Stucco Veneziano walls and exquisite terrazzo floors and limestone borders.

Upper East Side's Seville almost sold out

The National Arbor Day Foundation provides more than eight million trees for planting in America each year, and for each $10 donated to its Trees in Memory or Trees in Celebration programs, 10 Lodgepole pine or Douglas fir trees will be planted in damaged national forests.

Cleaner Cruises, Toxic Breast Milk and the Gift of a Tree

The 212ft Douglas fir was one of several at the Hermitage in Dunkeld given a trim and cleaned up to mark the event.

Special tree-tment

The Douglas fir is really a close relative of hemlock trees and not a true spruce or fir.

Douglas fir: a pine, not a true fir

Last year, one of his trees--a 7-foot Douglas fir that Kintigh hand-pollinated from two genetically superior parents--was awarded the National Christmas Tree Association Co-grand Championship.

The tree that could be king