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Pinaceae
Pseudotsuga menziesii
Lushootseed Name: čəbidac (pronounce ch-bee-dotz)
Specimen Size: 126.7ft tall, 45.25in in diameter.
Location: Several very fine old examples located on the lawn in front of Denny Hall.
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:
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.
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.
Bark: Deep and furrowed especially with age, very distinctive, anywhere from gray speckled to a dark red brown.
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.
Native range of Pseudotsuga menziesii across western North America compiled by Data Basin.
Below is the description found for this species on the original Brockman Memorial Tree Tour:
Historic Tree Tour Information: Douglas-fir is the preeminent Pacific Northwest tree. It covers more acres, grows larger, and provides more wood than any other species in the region. For mature trees, two characteristics stand out: first the trunks tend to be like telephone poles, without low branches, and are covered with thick, dark, corky bark—to protect from fire. Secondly, the trees are dark, from the density of their inch-long (2.5-centimeter-long) needles. The cones, 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to10.2 centimeters) long, are easily distinguished from hemlock, spruce, or pine cones by the little “mouse tails” that stick out from between the scales. A Native American myth explains that the three ended bract comprises the back legs and tail of a mouse that hid inside the cone during forest fires for protection, and the tree was kind enough to be its sanctuary.
Douglas-fir is a common species for Christmas trees. Its wood is heavy, strong, fine grained, and often used in structural applications with high load requirements. It has also been used for aircraft, telephone poles, furniture, etc. The bark contains pitch, burns with a lot of heat and almost no smoke, and is highly prized as a fuel. Resin from the trunk is used in the manufacturing of glues and candles, and can be used to caulk boats. A good way to identify Douglas-fir is by the red bud tips on the ends of the branches.
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