Douglas-fir is one of the largest and most valuable timber trees in the world. This conifer (cone-bearing tree) is the source of more lumber than any other species of tree in North America. It is common in the western United States and Canada, both in the Pacific Coast region of the Rocky Mountains. The Douglas-fir is not a true fir. It belongs to the pine family.
The flat needles of a Douglas-fir are about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) long. The egg-shaped cones have odd, three-pointed bracts (leaflike structures). In the Pacific Northwest, Douglas-firs grow from 180 to 250 feet (55 to 76 meters) tall and up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) thick through the trunk.
Douglas-firs may live up to 800 years. Forests of older trees are economically valuable, but they also provide a home for rare plants and animals that cannot live anywhere else. As a result, there is much disagreement about how these forests should be managed. The Douglas-fir is the state tree of Oregon.
See also Conifer; Pine; Spruce.
