Christmas
is next week, and to celebrate we are profiling one of the most popular
Christmas trees as the December Species of the Month. In recent years, there
has been a proliferation of species made available for holiday décor, such as
the noble, grand, and Fraser firs and Norway spruce. When I was a kid, the old
standby, and still my favorite, was the Douglas fir. I see them on a daily
basis, and when they reach 40-200 feet tall they lose their Christmas tree
shape but the wonderful smell is still there. Besides, a 200 footer is way too
big for the front room window.
Scientific
name: Pseudotsuga menziesii
Kingdom:
Plantae (plants)
Class:
Pinopsida (conifers)
Order:
Pinales (pines)
Range: British
Columbia south to northern California west of the Cascades and Sierras and along
the Rockies south to Yellowstone, then scattered distribution south to Mexico.
The coastal variety is subspecies menziesii and the Rocky Mountain subspecies is glauca.
Habitat:
Well-aerated soils from sea level to 7500 feet for menziesii
and 10,700 feet for glauca. Southern populations reach higher
elevations than northern populations. Pseudotsuga menziesii
forms communities
with western red cedar, western hemlock, redwood, Sitka spruce, and other
conifers.
Lifespan: Commonly,
500 years. Some individuals exceed 1000 years.
Diet: Sunlight,
water, soil minerals
Predators:
Small mammals such as squirrels and tree voles (seeds), humans (timber)
Conservation
Status: No special protection
Other
Information: In addition to serving as a popular Christmas tree, Douglas fir is
a valuable commercial forestry product. Due to rapid growth time (relatively
speaking) from sapling to harvest, logging companies frequently reforest
clearcuts with exclusive Douglas fir stands. Trees can be harvested in as
little as 80 years.
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| Douglas fir in its natural habitat |
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| Needles grow all around the branch |
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| Needles grow along the length of the branch |
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| Rough bark |
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| Unopened seed cone |
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| The finished product |
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