The Tree

Douglas-Fir attains its greatest size in the northwest coastal region, towering majestically to a height of over 200 feet with a clear log for over a third of its height. It has a diameter of from three to twelve feet. The deeply fissured reddish brown bark is often ten to twelve inches thick.This tree resembles the spruce, hemlock and yew and is one of the most important of our commercial woods. The needles are narrow, mostly obtuse, flat, soft and from one-half to one and one-half inches long. The cones are oval and are from one and one-half to four inches long with a profusion of seeds which germinate rather quickly. In the spring of 1945 a Douglas-Fir tree was felled in Oregon which was nine feet nine inches in diameter. It produced 71,542 board feet of high grade lumber. The tallest tree ever found, at least in the northern hemisphere, was a British Columbian Douglas-Fir 417 feet tall. The Douglas-Fir is the official State tree of Oregon.

Douglas Fir tree bark

Douglas Fir pollen cones

Common Names in Use

• Douglas-Fir (Utah, Oreg., Mont., and trade)
• Common Douglasfir
• Cork-barked Douglas Spruce (var. suberosa lemmon)
• Douglas-tree
• Douglas Spruce (Calif., Colo., Mont.)
• Douglas Yellow Fir (trade)
• Fir (Mont., and trade)
• Golden Rod Douglas Fir (trade)
• Montana Fir (trade)
• National Yellow Fir (trade)
• Oregon Fir (trade)
• Oregon Pine (Calif., Wash., Oreg., and trade)
• Pacific Coast Douglas Fir (trade)
• Puget Sound Pine (Wash.)
• Red Fir (Oreg., Wash., Idaho., Utah., Mont., Colo., and trade)
• Red Pine (Utah., Idaho., Colo.)
• Red Spruce (Colo.)
• “Santiam” Quality Fir (trade)
• Spruce (Mont.)
• Yellow Douglas Fir (trade)
• Yellow Fir (Oreg., Mont., Idaho., Wash., and trade)

Growth Range

The growth range of Douglas-Fir extends from northern British Columbia and western Alberta southward through Washington, Oregon, northern California, Idaho, western Montana through Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and into Mexico, and a small area in western Texas. This prized tree attains its best growth in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia in the region between the Coast and the Cascade Mountains.

The Wood

The properties of Douglas-Fir wood vary considerably with the locale where grown. On the Pacific Coast it is strong, medium hard, heavy, and still, while the wood obtained from inland western states where the trees are much smaller, possesses less strength. The wood is yellowish to a very light-reddish tan with a narrow, whitish sapwood seldom exceeding three inches in width. It grows rapidly and the rings are large and prominent. Wide ringed wood appearing in the same tree is usually a yellowish brown and is called “yellow fir". It is brittle, splits easily and machines well, but is rather difficult to work with hand tools. The grain is attractive because of the large prominent growth rings.

Uses

Douglas-Fir is extensively used in plywood veneers for construction purposes of all kinds, and is produced in all thicknesses from one-eighth to one and one-half inches thick. The lumber is used in interior finish, cooperage, planing mill products, tanks and silos, construction of all types, boxes and crates and many other uses. Huge quantities have been used during World War II. Douglas-Fir plywood is one of the most useful and convenient materials used by the wood craftsman.

Douglas Fir is commonly used in structural framing

File References