Flora of North America species comparison

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Pseudotsuga menziesii

Pseudotsuga macrocarpa

coast Douglas-fir, Douglas-fir, Oregon-pine, sapin de Douglas

bigcone Douglas-fir, bigcone-spruce
Habit Trees to 90(–100)m; trunk to 4.4m diam.; crown narrow to broadly conic, flattened in age. Trees to 44m; trunk to 2.3m diam.; crown broadly conic.
Twigs

slender, pubescent, becoming glabrous with age.

slender, glabrous or pubescent.
Leaves

15–30(–40) × 1–1.5mm, yellow-green to dark or bluish green, apex obtuse to acute.

(20–)25–45 × 1–1.5mm, bluish green, apex mucronulate.
Pollen cones

yellow-red.

pale yellow.
Seed(s)

cones 4–10 × 3–3.5cm.

cones 9–20 × 4–7cm.
2n

=24.

Pseudotsuga menziesii

Pseudotsuga macrocarpa
Habitat Slopes, cliffs, and canyons, in chaparral and mixed coniferous forests
Elevation 200–2400m (700–7900ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Pseudotsuga menziesii is a most important timber tree, valued in both the Old and New worlds. The two intergrading varieties are sympatric in southern British Columbia and northeastern Washington.

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is the state tree of Oregon.

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Pseudotsuga macrocarpa, a tree of scattered occurrence and of no concern for timber, is valuable for esthetics and watershed protection. The northernmost stands of the species, in Kern County, are about 35 kilometers east of the closest approach of P. menziesii.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Bracts straight, appressed; seed cones 6-10 cm; leaves yellowish green; Pacific Coast region.
var. menziesii
1. Bracts spreading, often reflexed; seed cones 4-7 cm; leaves bluish green to dark green or gray-green; Rocky Mountain region.
var. glauca
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Pinaceae > Pseudotsuga Pinaceae > Pseudotsuga
Sibling taxa
P. macrocarpa
P. menziesii
Subordinate taxa
P. menziesii var. glauca, P. menziesii var. menziesii
Synonyms Abies menziesii, Abies mucronata, Abies taxifolia, Pinus taxifolia, P. douglasii, P. mucronata, P. taxifolia Abies macrocarpa, P. californica, P. douglasii var. macrocarpa
Name authority (Mirbel) Franco: Bol. Soc. Brot. ser. 2, 24: 74. (1950) (Vasey) Mayr: Wald. Nordamer. 278, plates 6, 8, 9. (1890)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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