Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

Lushootseed names: čəbidac (pronounce ch-bee-dotz)

Location: Several very fine examples located on the lawn in front of the HUB which also has the redcedar and swing.

Historical Background: The Nuxalks, Quinault, and other coastal tribes used the heartwood for torches. The Comox use a fermented Douglas-fir powder to stuff dogfish before cooking. Wood was used to craft hunting instruments such as spear handles, salmon weirs, and fish hooks. Its young needles can also be boiled with sugar water to make an edible syrup. 

Native

Native Range: Western North America

Identifying Features: Douglas firs are the most common of trees in Washington. In spite of their name they are not a true fir! Though they have features which may be confusing (due to a rather wide range and the consequent phenotypic variation) there are features which distinguish them. Douglas firs have pointed needles (unlike the notched tips of a true native fir). The buds are similarly sharper, and do not always grow in cruciform pattern (although they can). The bark especially on older trees is a gnarly ridged dark brown (very distinctive), and the tree large and pyramidal in crown shape. In the southern end of the range foliage can be very sparse, but generally grows thicker in the wetter regions. 

Identifying Features In Depth:

1. Form: Large with high apical and a generally  pyramidal crown shape on a large tree which grows to 230” (70m) tall (some cases document to 295” or 90 meters)! The branches are slightly drooping off a stiff erect leader.

2. Leaves: Needles are 0.5-1.5’ in length and yellowish green with pointed tips. Needles are generally flat, with one groove on the upper surface and 2 stomatal bands, arising from pointed sharp buds. When pulled off they leave a flat scar (as opposed to the circular scars left when a true fir needle is pulled off), and are spirally arranged on the branch. They can appear flat and horizontal like the grand fir or bottlebrush in pattern like the subalpine fir, a wide array of environmental variation that can cause one to easily mistake it for a true fir without a deeper look.

3. Bark: Deep and furrowed especially with age, very distinctive, anywhere from gray speckled to a dark red brown.

4. Reproductive Bodies: Pollen cones are reddish brown and small, while the seed cones are 2-4’ (5-10cm) in length, hanging and ovular. The cones are green at flowering but turn brown to grey when mature. The scales are papery and display prominent 3 forked bracts that extend beyond the scales. Unlike a true fir, Douglas firs drop their cones to the ground where they may often be found in abundance.