Douglas-fir

See text.

Species and varieties

By far the best-known is the very widespread and abundant North American species Pseudotsuga menziesii, a taxonomically complex species (Li & Adams, 1989) divided into two major subspecies (treated as distinct species by some botanists); Coast Douglas-fir or 'Green Douglas-fir', on the Pacific coast; and Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir or 'Interior Douglas-fir', in the interior west of the continent. The latter is in turn divided into two varieties, 'Blue Douglas-fir' or 'Colorado Douglas-fir' (var. glauca) in the southern Rocky Mountains, and 'Gray Douglas-fir' or 'Fraser River Douglas-fir' (var. caesia) in the northern Rocky Mountains. The species as a whole is generally known as simply 'Douglas-fir', or as 'Common Douglas-fir'; other less widely used names include 'Oregon Douglas-fir', 'Douglas Tree', and 'Oregon Pine'. It can attain heights of 100 m, second only to the Coast Redwood (old claims of trees up to 126 m have never been verified), and is the state tree of Oregon. The specific name, menziesii, is after Archibald Menzies, a Scottish physician and naturalist who first discovered the tree on Vancouver Island in 1791. Away from its native area, it is also extensively used in forestry as a plantation tree for timber in Europe, New Zealand, southern South America and elsewhere; it is also naturalised in the British Isles, Chile and New Zealand.

Related Topics:
North America - Coast Douglas-fir - Pacific - Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir - Coast Redwood - State tree - Oregon - Archibald Menzies - Naturalist - Vancouver Island - 1791 - Forestry - Plantation - Timber - Europe - New Zealand - South America - Naturalised - British Isles - Chile

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All of the other species are of restricted range and little-known outside of their respective native environments, and even there are often rare and only of very scattered occurrence, occurring in mixed forests; all are listed as being of unfavourable conservation status.

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;North America

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• Coast Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp. menziesii - {{StatusSecure}}
• Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp. glauca - {{StatusSecure}}
• Mexican Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga lindleyana - {{StatusVulnerable}}
• Bigcone Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga macrocarpa - {{StatusNearConcern}}

;Asia

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• Japanese Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga japonica - {{StatusVulnerable}}
• Chinese Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga sinensis var. sinensis - {{StatusVulnerable}}
• Narrow-cone Chinese Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga sinensis var. gaussenii - {{StatusVulnerable}}
• Short-leaf Chinese Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga sinensis var. brevifolia - {{StatusVulnerable}}
• Yunnan Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga sinensis var. forrestii - Vulnerable
• Taiwan Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga sinensis var. wilsoniana - Vulnerable