Douglas Fir - Many Uses

The Douglas fir is one of the tallest, most important and valuable trees in the world. An evergreen (i.e. a plant that has leaves or needles in all four seasons), the Douglas fir grows best in the moist, temperate climates of the western United States and Canada as well as the United Kingdom and certain parts of western Europe. Doug firs are fast growing and sun loving.

The tree is easily identified in the woods by its height (the tallest known tree found in Oregon in 2008 measured 327 feet) soaring above most other trees in its native forests; its up-turned sweeping branches that form a “smile;” and small cones with three point bracts that look like “mouse-tails.” Its bark is thick and wrinkly, and its flat needles are about one inch long. Outside of redwoods and Sequoia trees, the Doug fir is one of nature’s oldest living things. One of the oldest specimens grows in southern Oregon at an estimated age of 1,200 years.

The Douglas fir is the state tree of Oregon. Its name gives a nod to both David Douglas in its common form and to Archibald Menzies in its scientific form—Pseudotsuga menziesii. Menzies was the Scottish doctor who first documented the tree on Vancouver Island in 1791 while sailing with the George Vancouver expedition.

Its timber has been a dominant source of lumber for the built environment—forming the framework of houses and commercial buildings in the late 19th and 20th centuries. A modular building system—based on 2" x 4" studs with 2 foot spacing, often sheathed over with 4' x 8' sheets of plywood—became the standard.

Douglas fir trees play a prominent role in the world’s Christmas tree market. Among the Douglas fir’s many uses outside of lumber are: wood pulp for paper making, firewood, railroad ties, furniture, eau de vie, sorbet and ice cream, essential oils, tea, beer, cocktails, brine for marinades used in cooking—the list goes on and on.