Scientific Name:
Pseudotsuga menziesii
Pronunciation:
soo-doe-TSOO-guh MEN-zeez-ee-eye
Common Name:
Douglas fir
Family Name:
Pinaceae
Plant Type:
Conifer
Key ID Features:
Bark very thick, deeply fissured on older trees; leaves soft, needle-like but much shorter and flatter than pine trees,15-30(-40)cm long x 1.2-1.5mm wide; pollen cones 15-20mm long, yellow-red; seed cones pendulous on 5-10mm long stalks, 4-10cm long × 3-3.5cm wide when opened, bracts tucked under cone scales are 3-pointed (look like tail and back legs of a tiny mouse hiding under scale); seeds 6-8mm long x 3-5mm wide x ~2mm thick, light brown, wing 9-14mm long x ~5mm wide; seedlings with 5-9 cotyledons, 1.2-2cm long with entire margins. Conifers.org
Habit:
Horizontal, Upright
Form:
Pyramidal - widely
Texture:
Medium
Mature Height:
> 30m
Mature Spread:
10 - 15m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
B.C. east of Cascades, B.C. west of Cascades, U.S. - northwest, U.S. - southwest
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 5: (-29 to -23 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Acidic, Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate
Landscape Uses:
Forestry, Native planting, Specimen plant, Wind break, Woodland margin
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Needle-like
Arrangement:
Alternate, Spiraled
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Fall:
Green
Shapes:
Acicular
Apices:
Acute, Rounded
Bases:
Cuneate
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
2-3cm long, sharp point; soft, flexible, appear in 2 rows, spirally arranged, flat, groove above.
Inflorescence Type:
n/a (male cone)
Flower Morphology:
Monoecious plant
Colour (petals):
Male cone, Yellow, Brown
Flower Time at Peak:
Apr, May
Fruit Type:
Cone (winged seeds)
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Sep, Oct
Bark Morphology:
Deeply fissured, Corky, Single stem trunk
Bark or Stem Colour:
Grey, Brown
Leaf Scar Shape:
Round
Organ Modifications:
Ectomycorrhizae
Propagation:
Seed
Maintenance:
Low
Pest Susceptibility:
Aphids or adelgids, Blight or needle cast, Canker or sap rot, Caterpillar or cutworm, Dieback, Diptera - true flies, Nematodes, Rust, Scale insects (Drought tolerant)
Course(s):
- AARB 1012
- HORT 1155
- Level 2 Apprenticeship
Location(s):
- (FSC) Far South Campus : seedlings - planted in 2018
- (JPL) Juglans PLanting
- (QRR) Quercus Robur Row planting : seedlings - planted in 2018
- (TFL) Turf Field Lab
- (TFLW) Turf Field Lab West
- (WDH) Wark-Dumais House : 213, 215
- (WLG) WoodLand Garden