Douglas Fir: Douglas fir is native to western North America, from Canada south to California and into Mexico. Douglas fir is one of the most versatile of the domestic wood species, with uses that include plywood, heavy construction, studding, floor boards, roof trusses, floor and ceiling joists, beams, interior and exterior joinery, marine piling, mining timber and dock and harbour-building material.

FIR USES: Clear or tight knot in first or second growth is used for flooring,is a very strong wood with a rich reddish heartwood. It has generally tight growth rings, straight grain, and is medium heavy with good resistance to mildew and fungus...and distinctive three-forked bracts between the scales on the cones.

LOCATION:

Southern mainland coast, with the interior variety found throughout southern and central BC.

SIZE:

Grows up to 85-metres in height on the coast and 42-metres in the interior.

CONES:

5 to 11 cm long and green when young, turning to brown as they age...and have papery scales, with three-pronged bracts [resembling mouse hind legs and tail] in between them. The cones have winged seeds, which are eaten by birds and small animals.

NEEDLES:

Flat with pointed tips; bright yellowish-green with single groove on upper surface and a paler colour on the lower surface...they are spirally arranged so as to appear to stand out around the twig.

BARK:

Smooth, grey-brown, blistered when young, furrowed, thick, dark reddish-brown ridges as the tree ages. Bears scrape off the bark to eat the sap layer beneath.

WOOD CHARACTERISTICS:

Dense, hard, stiff, durable, strong.

USES:

Modern; heavy-duty construction, such as wharves, trestles, bridge parts and commercial buildings.

Traditional; wood is used for fuel, fishing hooks, handles, snowshoes, fishtraps, boughs, floor coverings. The seeds can be eaten. The twigs/needles can exude a sugar-like substance, which was prized.