Douglas Fir Tree

Family name(English): Pine
Family name(Latin): Pinaceae

Latin Names: Pseudotsuga menziesii

Common Names: Fir, Douglas Spruce, Coast Douglas-fir, Oregon Pine, Oregon Douglas-fir, Douglas Tree, Interior Douglas-fir.

Native American Names:

Related Species:
PSEUDOTSUGA GLAUCA (Rocky Mountain Douglas Fir)

is the hardier. It tolerates drought, is dense and hasmore ascending branches.

Botanical Description:
Habit:
Size: Trees over 60 m (200') high and 1.8 m (6') in diameter seldom seen now. Most mature trees in on coast are 0.9-1.2 m (3-4') in diameter and 60 m (200') high; in interior, few are more than 75cm (30') in diameter. Young trees form broad-sloping pyramid: lower branches straight or drooping, upper branches curving upwards. Old trees develop heavy, crooked limbs and flattened or irregular tops. In shade, lower limbs drop off, leave long, clear trunk.

Leaves:
Needles are flat with a pointed tip. The upper surface is bright yellowish-green with a single groove down the centre; the lower surface is paler. The needles appear to stand out around the twig.
Cones:
Cones are 5 to 11 centimeters long, turning from green to grey as they mature. Between each scale, long three-pronged bracts are easily seen. Seeds are winged at the tip.


Fruit: The cone ripens in fall, hangs downwards, drops to ground; 5-10 cm (2-4") long for coastal form or 4-7.5 cm (11/2-3") long for interior variety. Unmistakable 3-pronged bracts between cone scales produce so as to be easily visible.

Bark:
The bark is smooth, grey-brown, with gummy resin-filled blisters when young, the bark becomes very thick with age and deeply grooved, with dark reddish-brown ridges.
Wood:
Generally reddish but sometimes yellowish, with prominent annual rings. Splits cleanly, very strong. Important for heavy construction and interior and exterior finishing.

Underground parts:
Although Douglas-fir is potentially a deep-rooting species, its root morphology varies according to the nature of the soil. In the absence of obstructions, Douglas-fir initially forms a tap root that grows rapidly during the first few years.

Ecology:
Habitat:
The two varieties of Douglas-fir occur in quite different ecosystems. The Interior variety grows in a variety of habitats including open forests with pinegrass and mosses beneath. On the coast, the forests are much more productive. Douglas-fir can grow with western red cedar, hemlock, and grand fir, with a lush layer of salal, huckleberries, Oregon-grape, and sword fern beneath.
Many animals eat Douglas-fir seeds, including squirrels, chipmunks, mice, shrews, winter wrens, and crossbills. Bears often scrape off the bark on young trees and eat the sap layer beneath.

Range:

Range Bc: Most of souther half. Biggest on Pacific coast; variety of soils, to approximately 850m (2800'); in souther interior to 1050 m (6000') in Rockies. Northwards as far as Stuart and McLeod lakes.
Range WA: Most widespread conifer in state, likely to be found wherever there are evergreens below subalpine elevations. Largest in costal forest. Altitudianal limit approximately 1350 m (4500').

Native where:
The coastal variety of Douglas-fir occurs along the southern mainland coast and across Vancouver Island, except for the very northern tip. The Interior variety occurs throughout southern British Columbia and north to Takla Lake.

Propagation:

Technique and Timing:
Douglas-fir germination is epigeal. Seed germinates in mid-March to early April in the warmer portions of the range and as late as mid-May in the cooler areas. Seedling growth the first year is indeterminate but relatively slow and limited generally by moisture, which triggers initiation of dormancy in midsummer. The dormant period normally extends from midsummer until April or May of the following year (37). Douglas-fir can produce lammas shoots, but this habit is confined to either the more moist portion of the range or to years with abnormally heavy summer rainfall. This habit is probably most pronounced in the southern Rockies, where the summer period is characterized by irregular, heavy rainstorms. In any event, the great majority of the annual shoot growth occurs during the initial flush. First-year seedlings on better sites in the Pacific Northwest may develop shoots 6 to 9 cm (2.5 to 3.5 in) long. Growth in subsequent years is determinate and gradually accelerates so that when saplings are 8 to 10 years old, terminal growth may consistently exceed 1 m (3.3 ft) per year on the more productive sites.

Harvest:

Plant Part: wood

Method of Harvest:
In a Douglas Fir forest, the most common form of harvest is the clearcut. A clearcut usually provides the ample space and light needed for newly planted Douglas-fir seedlings. Other harvest methods, such as seed tree, shelterwood or thinnings, can be used to encourage other species or a mixed species forest. Prior to any harvest, match your harvest method to your objectives.

Ecological Considerations of Harvest:
Cultural Consideration of Harvest: Continues clearcutting of forest can create major environmental, such as in maintaining biological diversity and providing for well-regulated, high-quality streamflow.

Indigenous and non-Western Use/Significance/Relationships:

Aboriginal people in North America had many uses for Douglas-fir. They have used the wood and the boughs as fuel for pit cooking. They also have used it for fishing hooks and for handles. Douglas-fir boughs have been frequently used for covering the floors of lodges and sweat lodges.

Western (European-American) Uses/Relationships:Douglas-fir wood has been highly valued since the first Europeans exported lumber in the 18th century. This dense wood is exceptionally hard, stiff and durable. Its strength and availability in large dimensions make it outstanding for heavy-duty construction such as wharves, trestles, bridge parts and commercial buildings

Edible uses:
Drink: tea; a refreshing tea is made from young leaves and twigs). Coffe;(the fresh leaves have a pleasant balsamic odour and are as a coffee substitute.
Flavoring: Young shoot tips-used a flavoring in cooked foods ( a subtle woodsy flavor).
Food: The inner bark-dried, ground into a meal and mixed with cereals for making bread etc.
Medical actions: In present times the Douglas fir is little or not employ medically although North American Indian tribes used it to treat variety of complaints. An antiseptic resin is obtained from the trunk. It is used as a poultice to treat cuts, burns, wounds and other akin ailments.

Personal experience:
Harvest: One of my first jobs here in Western Washington was working on the harvest and production of Christmas trees. One of the tree was the Douglas fir tree. I can still remember the small.
Site location: Shelton Mason County
Site description: Douglas Fir Company (no longer in business in shelton)
(Ownership, soil, light, conditions, topography, other, plant species present, quantity/condition of desired species, evidence of animal activity, evidence of human activity, reason for selection)

Other notes:
Because the Douglas-fir is not a true fir, the common name is hyphenated. It was named after David Douglas, the Scottish botanist who introduced many of British Columbia's native conifers to Europe.

 

References:

1. C. P. Lyons and Bill Merilees. Trees, Shrubs & Flowers to Know in British Columbia & Washington.

2. Goverment of British Columbia. Tree Book 2001. On line at
http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/treebook/douglasfir.htm visited 11/11/05

3. Richard K. herman and Denis P. Lavender. Online at

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_1/pseudotsuga/menziesii.htm

4. http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Pseudotsuga+menziesii&CAN=COMIND

Name: Aldo del Bosque
Program: Art, Environment, and the Child: Walking the Wheel of the Seasons
Quarter: Fall,
Year:2005

Picture By: http://www.paghat.com/images/douglasfir_jansnow.jpg

Drawing by: Aldo del Bosque