Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Pseudotsuga menziesii

Family

Pinaceae

Flowering season

April to May

English distribution

It is found throughout the country but is much less

common in the North, the East Midlands and the

Southeast.

See the BSBI distribution map for Douglas Fir

Habitat

It is a neophyte which was introduced from North

America in the mid-1820s and has been recognised

in the wild since the late 1960s.

It is used as a plantation tree for timber in forests

and has also been planted in woodland, estates,

parks and large gardens.

Description

Douglas Fir is a tall evergreen tree growing up to

64m – the tallest tree in Britain.

 Male cones (flowers) are cream and up to 2cm.

The scales have 2 pollen sacs on the under-surface.

Female cones are dangling and up to 10cm. Each

cone scale has 2 ovules. They ripen in a single season.

On ripening, the cone scales become woody and are

shorter than the 3-lobed, protruding bract scales.

The needle-like leaves are arranged in 2 rows and

are up to 4cm.

They are pale green to dark green on the upper

surface and have 2 pale stripes on the lower surface.

The bark is grey and fissured.