Douglas fir – Pseudotsuga menziesii is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America. They are medium sized to extremely large evergreen trees, ranging up to 330 feet and commonly reach 8 ft in diameter. The largest coastal Douglas-firs regularly live over 500 years, with the oldest specimens living for over 1,300 years.
The cones are pendulous, with persistent scales, unlike those of true firs, with distinctive long, three pointed bracts which protrude prominently above each scale and resemble the back half of a mouse, with two feet and a tail. The cones are light brown when mature, measuring up to 4 inches long.
Douglas-fir seeds are an important food source for small mammals such as moles, shrews, and chipmunks, which consume an estimated 65% of each annual seed crop. Mature Douglas-fir forests are the primary habitat of the red tree vole and the spotted owl. Many different Native American groups used the bark, resin, and needles to make herbal treatments for various diseases.
