Family: Pinaceae, Pine view all from this family

Description Large to very large tree with narrow, pointed crown of slightly drooping branches; 2 distinct geographic varieties: Coast and Rocky Mountain.
Height: 80-200' (24-61 m).
Diameter: 2-5' (0.6-1.5 m), sometimes much larger.
Needles: evergreen; spreading mostly in 2 rows, 3/4-1 1/4" (2-3 cm) long. Flattened, mostly rounded at tip, flexible; dark yellow-green or blue-green; very short, twisted leafstalks.
Bark: reddish-brown, very thick, deeply furrowed into broad ridges; often corky.
Twigs: orange, turning brown; slender, hairy, ending in dark red, conical, pointed, scaly, hairless bud.
Cones: 2-3 1/2" (5-9 cm) long; narrowly egg-shaped, light brown, short-stalked; with many thin, rounded cone-scales each above a long, protruding, 3-pointed bract; paired, long-winged seeds.

Habitat Coast Douglas-fir forms vast forests on moist, well-drained soils; often in pure stands. Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir is chiefly on rocky soils of mountain slopes; in pure stands and mixed coniferous forests.

Range Central British Columbia south along Pacific Coast to central California; to 2700' (823 m) in north and to 6000' (1829 m) in south; also in Rocky Mountains to SE. Arizona and Trans-Pecos Texas; down to 2000' (610 m) in north and at 8000-9500' (2438-2896 m) in south; also local in mountains of N. and central Mexico.

Discussion Coast Douglas-fir (var. menziesii), the typical Douglas-fir of the Pacific Coast, is a very large tree with long, dark yellow-green needles and large cones with spreading bracts. Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir (var. glauca), of the Rocky Mountain region, is a medium-sized to large tree with shorter, blue-green needles and smaller cones with bracts bent upward. One of the world's most important timber species, Douglas-fir ranks first in the United States in total volume of timber, in lumber production, and in production of veneer for plywood. It is one of the tallest trees as well and a popular Christmas tree. David Douglas (1798-1834), the Scottish botanical collector, who sent seeds back to Europe in 1827, is commemorated in the common name. The foliage is consumed by grouse and by deer and elk; birds and mammals eat the seeds.