Flora of New Zealand Series

Douglas fir

Large or very large tree; branches ± horizontal; branchlets tending to droop. Bark thick, reddish brown beneath. Shoots light to dark brown, with short hairs, ridged. Winter resting buds to 1 cm long, shining purplish brown, long, narrow and sharply acute. Lvs 1.5-3.8 cm × 1-2 mm, often revolute, glaucous-banded below, orange-scented when crushed, 2-ranked on juvenile and other vegetative shoots in deep shade; apex obtuse. ♂ cones 1.2-2 cm long. Mature ♀ cones (4)-5-10 cm long, cylindric-ovoid. Bract scale with exserted part pointed towards cone apex; central lobe longer, 5-15 mm long, subacute; ovuliferous scales much wider than long, entire. Seed mottled brown beneath.

N.: Volcanic Plateau, particularly the Rotorua area; S.: Canterbury (inland areas to c. 800 m), C. Otago (mainly Queenstown Hill and Naseby).

Western N. America 1925

Naturalised abundantly, sometimes forming an understorey in areas adjacent to plantations, and often regenerating on banks and paths around and downwind of cultivation sites.

Douglas fir is one of the commonest cultivated conifers in N.Z. south of the Volcanic Plateau, and is grown in forests, plantations, parks, domains and gardens throughout settled areas and sometimes beyond to c. 1000 m. It is one the most important timber sp. after Pinus radiata. In N.Z. Douglas fir is rather variable, the main differences being in cone size and foliage colour. Some planted trees suggest P. menziesii var. glauca (Mayr) Franco, a smaller tree with completely glaucous foliage and smaller cones, but this taxon has not been seen wild.

Young spontaneous saplings of Douglas fir usually have smaller, pectinate lvs in 2 ranks and thus resembling saplings of Abies and Picea spp., but the scent of oranges when crushed and the Fagus -like buds readily distinguish this sp. from all other conifers in N.Z. Also, unlike the commoner Abies and Picea spp., cones are often produced on young plants as small as 1-2 m high. It is sometimes unfortunately called Oregon pine, and has been known previously in N.Z. as P. douglasii and P. taxifolia.