( 88 ) 

 PART 6— DOUGLAS FIR 



America's great timber tree and a fine 

 ornamental evergreen 



The collection of Douglas Fir is located near the entrance to the 

 Elevated Railway Approach and on the narrow planted area be- 

 tween the roads there (Map p. 57). All the evergreens north of 

 die path that runs across the strip at the entrance from one road 

 to the other are Douglas Fir. Eight other similar trees stand on 

 the slight embankment across the inner road. 



A very much larger group stands in another part of the Garden, 

 near the Iris, Peony, Tulip, and Narcissus collections. These 

 trees are 



Pseudotsuga mucronata or P. taxifolia, the Douglas Fir or 

 Douglas Spruce 



This is one of our finest large ornamental evergreens. It is 

 native to the western part of our country and in its range shows 

 two distinct types. Along the northern Pacific Coast it becomes a 

 tall tree up to 300 feet in height and is of outstanding lumber 

 importance. But that form is inclined to be tender. In the Rocky 

 Mountain part of its range it becomes a smaller tree of slower 

 growth, but is not so tender. This is the form that is extensively 

 used for ornamental planting in this part of the country. 



Much as we found in the case of the Colorado Spruce, the 

 Douglas Fir shows color variations. The tender coastal form is 

 typically green and the Rocky Mountain type bluish with grada- 

 tions between. Any group of seedlings will exhibit these chance 

 variations and any especially blue individuals ma}- be perpetuated 

 by grafting. 



Ornamentally, the Douglas Fir is highly esteemed. It makes a 

 handsome tree of rapid growth and is one of the finest of our 

 larger evergreens. 



For about two decades, more Douglas Fir timber has been 

 felled in this country than of any other single kind of tree. Only 

 the combined output of the four or five southern yellow-pines 



