site title

HOME PROTECTION NATURE PLAN YOUR VISIT FAQ JOIN/DONATE ABOUT

Douglas-fir


crabtree tall graphic

 

 

 

crabtree oldgrowth narrow graphic

Old-growth tree in the proposed Douglas-Fir
National Monument.

 

 

friends logo graphic
The unmistakable 3" cone
of the Douglas-fir. Note the "pitchfork-shaped" bracts emerging between the scales.

douglas fir needles graphic
1" blunt-tipped needles
form a "bottle-brush" shape around the twig and show two faint white stripes on the underside of the needles.


The Douglas-fir is the state tree of Oregon and the second tallest tree species in the world, behind only the coastal redwood. It can grow to over 300 feet tall and up to 10-feet in diameter (far too large for one person to hug!) They can live for over 500 years, and the oldest known tree was 1,400 years old. Douglas-firs and other tree species in Crabtree Valley and the Millennium Grove are believed to be nearly 1,000 years old.

As the most common tree species in Oregon, it serves as the signature old-growth species in the proposed Douglas-Fir National Monument.

The Douglas-fir ecosystem supports not only the threatened northern spotted owl and one of its primary food sources—the red tree vole, but many other animals as well.

Elk and black-tailed deer, porcupines, the Douglas squirrel and other mice and voles use the Douglas-fir as sustenance. Any number of birds eat the seeds of Douglas-fir, including song, white-crowned and golden-crowned sparrows, dark-eyed junco, pine siskin, purple finch and red crossbills. Black bears are known to hibernate in the rotted-out cavities at the base of older Doug-firs. Porcupines eat the inner bark of younger Douglas-firs; seeds are very important food for mice, voles, shrews and chipmunks; the Douglas ground squirrel caches cones for use throughout the winter.All of these birds and mammals and many more, use the Douglas-fir forest as a home during some or all of the year.

What's in a name?
You may have noticed that the name of our eponymous tree, the Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is spelled with a hyphen. That is just one way of acknowledging the uniqueness of the Douglas-fir. Despite being so large that you can’t miss it, and so common that it dominates the ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest, the Douglas-fir is something of an enigma.

The Douglas-fir is not a member of the fir family, hence the hyphen between Douglas and fir. All the “true firs” (like the silver fir, or the noble fir) are members of the Abies genus. The coastal Douglas-fir is the only member of the Pseudotsuga genus within its range. The Douglas-Fir’s Latin name (Pseudotsuga) means “false hemlock” because, of course, it is not a hemlock either.

The common name, Douglas-fir comes from the famous naturalist, David Douglas, who wandered around much of the Pacific Northwest and “discovered” many plants and animals. Ironically, continuing our theme that the Douglas-fir is never what it seems, the Latin designation of the Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) recognizes not David Douglas, but the botanist Archibald Menzies who may have been the first to “identify” the Douglas-fir as a distinct species. I use the term “discover” and “identify” because probably neither Douglas or Menzies bothered to discuss their "discoveries” with the Native Americans who were certainly much more familiar with the Douglas-fir ecosystem.

Identifying a Douglas-fir
When you visit the Douglas-Fir National Monument, or anywhere in the Douglas-fir range, it is relatively easy to identify a mature Douglas-fir. They have a distinct bark that is often called cork-like: it is rough and has deep vertical fissures. The distinctive bark is a helpful identifier of the Douglas-fir, especially because in mature trees the needles and cones- the other common identifiers- are often tens if not hundreds of feet above the ground. Younger Douglas-fir usually do not have the rough, dark bark. They are often described as having a thin grey texture, with many sap blisters. For these younger trees, the needles are the best identifier. The needles grow in single sprouts all around the twigs. The cones are also distinctive. They are relatively small and hang downwards from the branches. According to a Native American legend, you can see the back legs and tail of a mouse, hiding between the scales of the Douglas-fir cone.


doug fir shelf graphic
One of the fun features of the coastal Douglas-fir is that it occasionally grows a sort of a natural shelf in the understory. The shelf-like growth (an unscientific label) is composed of a single eruption, that usually looks like several branches all growing from the same spot. This growth is a great place for the Northern Spotted Owl to roost and nest. It is sometimes used as an indicator of prime Spotted Owl habitat.

douglas mixed forest graphic
Have fun in the forest
Once you become known as an advocate of the Douglas-Fir National Monument, you will want to go for more hikes in the woods of the proposed Monument. My advice to you as a fellow advocate of the Douglas-Fir National Monument is, when you go for a hike in the woods, you need to be ready when someone asks you: “What kind of a tree is that?” You will feel pressure to appear knowledgeable, so if all the trees around you look alike, you should look at the tree carefully and say: ’Well, of course I am no David Douglas (the world-famous botanist for whom the tree is named), but that tree looks like a Douglas-fir to me.” If it is a really large tree with rough brown bark, then add, with confidence: “Isn’t it magnificent?” If you adopt this strategy, you are, by the law of averages, likely to be right, and you will solidify your reputation as a real tree nerd. (I follow the same strategy with “identifying” red-tailed hawks). There are other trees in the Douglas-fir ecosystem, so you won’t always be right, but you will probably average better than sixty to seventy-five percent, and, as long as you are not hiking with a real botanist, you can probably get away with it.

south santiam forest medium graphic breitenbush chandra photo graphic
Photo curtesey of Chandra LaGue

You can study the features of some of the other more common trees at Other Conifers page.

Read more on the Old-growth Forests Page

We want to create a Douglas-Fir National Monument to recognize and preserve the unique ecosystem that is a Douglas-fir forest. The Douglas-fir ecosystem is a scientific wonder, supporting unique species and common species in a unique way. The proposed Douglas-Fir National Monument contains stretches of Douglas-fir forests of all ages, large areas of mature forests and numerous small stands of old-growth forests. The mission of the Friends is to recognize the scientific, cultural and historic character of the ecosystem, and to restore a significant area to the fully natural functioning forest it once was.


Return to Nature