Created By: Centre for Forest Biology, University of Victoria
Douglas-fir - Pseudotsuga menziesii (Pinaceae)
An evergreen conifer native to the coastal regions of western North America, from west-central British Columbia, south to central California. There is considered to be a coastal and an interior variety in B.C. Douglas-fir is not a true fir (true firs are in the genus Abies) thus the common name is hyphenated. Douglas-fir is distinguished by its thick, furrowed, fire-resistant bark, needles arranged all around the stem, pointed buds and three-pronged bract emerging from between the scales in the mature cone. Coastal Douglas-fir is a very large tree, some say the second tallest in the world after Coast Redwood. It commonly lives more than 500 years and occasionally more than 1,000 years.
This point of interest is part of the tour: UVic Forest Biology Tree Walk
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