General: Tree up to 70 (occasionally to 90) m tall; rounded to flattened crown when older, young trees with pyramidal crown; bark very thick, rough, dark brown.
Leaves: Needles (1.5) 2-3 (3.5) cm long, spreading around twig or turned upward, obtuse to abruptly sharp-pointed tip; color varies from yellow-green to dark-green in var. menziesii to blue-green in var. glauca, lower surface with two longitudinal bands of white stomata.
Cones: Seed cones drooping, yellowish- to purplish-green when young, turning reddish-brown, soon deciduous; 6-10 cm long in var. menziesii, 4-7 cm in var. glauca; scales with 3-lobed tip, the centre one the longest; pollen cones yellow to reddish, 6-10 mm long.
Notes: Two varieties are recognized in BC:
1. Cones mostly 6-10 cm long, the bracts straight and appressed toward the cone tip; leaves deep (yellowish) green; primarily coastal.................. var. menziesii (coast Douglas-fir)
1. Cones mostly 4-7 cm long, the bracts appressed to spreading or reflexed; leaves more bluish-green; primarily interior................. var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco (Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir)
Moist to dry slopes, river terraces and flats in the lowland and montane zones; common in S BC, infrequent northward to C BC; E to SW AB and S to CA and MX.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
