How tall are douglas firs

In the winter, porcupines primarily eat the inner bark of young conifers, especially Douglas-fir. Douglas-fir snags are abundant in forests older than years and provide cavity-nesting habitat for numerous forest birds.

The leaves are also used by the adelgid Adelges cooleyi ; this 0. It is often present in large numbers, and can cause the foliage to turn yellowish from the damage in causes. Exceptionally, trees may be partially defoliated by it, but the damage is rarely this severe.

Coast Douglas fir is the dominant tree in the Pacific Northwest, occurring in nearly all forest types. It is adapted to a moist, mild climate. Associated trees include sitka spruce, ponderosa pine, grand fir, western redcedar, incense-cedar, bigleaf maple and others. Shrub associates include vine maple Acer circinatum , salal Gaultheria shallon , pacific rhododendron Rhododendron macrophyllum , Oregon-grape Mahonia aquifolium , red huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium , and salmonberry Rubus spectabilis , oceanspray Holodiscus discolor , snowberry Symphoricarpos albus and others.

In wet coastal forests, nearly every surface of old-growth Coast Douglas fir is covered by epiphytic mosses and lichens. The shade-intolerance of Douglas fir plays a large role in the forest succession of lowland old growth communities of the Pacific Northwest.

While mature stands of lowland old-growth forests contain many Western Hemlock Tsuga heterophylla seedlings, and some Western Red cedar Thuja plicata seedlings, Douglas fir dominated stands contain almost no Douglas fir seedlings. This seeming contradiction occurs because Douglas-firs are intolerant of shade and rarely survive for long within the shaded understory. When a tree dies in a mature forest the canopy opens up and sunlight becomes available as a source of energy for new growth.

The shade-tolerant Western Hemlock seedlings that sprout beneath the canopy have a head-start on other seedlings. This competitive advantage allows the Western Hemlock to grow rapidly into the sunlight, while other seedlings still struggle to emerge from the soil. The boughs of the growing Western Hemlock limit the sunlight for smaller trees and severely limit the chances of shade-intolerant trees, such as the Douglas-fir.

Over the course of centuries, Western Hemlock typically come to dominate the canopy of an old-growth lowland forest. Douglas-firs are pioneer trees, and possess thicker bark and a somewhat faster growth rate than other climax trees of the area, such as the Western Hemlock and Western Redcedar.

This quality often gives Douglas-firs a competitive advantage when the forest experiences a major disturbance such as fire. Periodically, portions of a Pacific Northwest lowland forest may be burned by wildfire, may be logged, or may be blown down by a wind-storm. These types of disturbances often create conditions where Douglas-firs have an advantage over less drought and fire-tolerant species.

Conifers dominate the climax forests of the Coastal Douglas-fir. Its strong quality and nonexistent warping is utilized in the reinforcement of bridges and tall buildings. It is also convenient for tall telephone poles and in railroad track ties. When made into plywood and used as a steel replacement on large boats, the boats float 7 more inches above the water. After the tree's bark is crushed and processed, it is used in over patented items such as shoe soles and natural cork replacements, since natural cork is both expensive and limited.

The resin from the tree assists in glue-making and protecting stringed instruments' bows. Although the Forest Service officially christened the tree a Douglas Fir to honor botanist David Douglas, who collected over lbs in the seed samples from these trees , this tree is not a fir, because the cones on the Douglas Fir hang downward, while true firs have cones that stand upright.

It is its own distinct species. This was the Hawaiian's favorite tree for their war canoes. Since the Hawaiians could not harvest Douglas Firs, the trees' driftwood was prized. Education Health Professions Optometry. Wind Advisory A wind advisory is in effect until 6 p.

Thanks for sharing, Samuel. We would be very interested to hear about your further big tree finds. A few hundred metres south of where the Trans-Canada Highway meets Finlayson Arm Road in Goldstream , there is a grove of trees, on the east side of the road, that I have not measured and are about 80 metres tall. A beautiful black cottonwood in the middle of relatively little Konuckson Park is about cm wide and 42 metres tall. Not many people seem to care about the hardwood giants around here. A grove of black cottonwoods in a seasonal swamp in NE Mount Douglas Park is very pretty-their crowns are truly enormous.

But since it is a seasonal swamp, and I was there in the swampy season, I did not get o measure these trees, but got swamped trying to. Must explore soon Hey Sam, Thanks again for sharing your extensive knowledge about our local trees.

I really appreciate the information, which makes me drool for a big tree road trip. So many beautiful places, so little time Hope you are getting out into the old growth, my friend. Cheers Gregg Koep. It is primarily Douglas Fir It is rarely visited. I am a big tree explorer who has lived on Vancouver Island all my life. This grove has no equal. Imagine a whole valley full of "Red Creek Fir" trees, never touched by humans.

Pat, that is very fascinating information! If you have any further information about that tree, or area, I would be happy to hear more! I am collecting as much info I can on my open database project of Douglas fir height records, and so far there us strong circumstantial evidence for Douglas fir in the to feet tall range, and some anecdotal and historic evidence for trees even as high as and feet, but those are still unconfirmed. What amazes me is the lack of height records in historic lumber publications.

Board feet and diameter was often the only interesting detail lumbermen noticed, and height was seldom recorded. What is it about humans that drives us to cut down or kill any and all things that are larger than us? Are humans simply the most indifferent, murderous species?

There is something here that is very wrong with us. Joseph E Fasciani. Leave a comment - no trees are harmed in doing so! Comments moderated for spam.

Hyperion, Coast Redwood: tallest known living tree, M. Vaden The heights of the tallest trees in the world, presently and historically, have been hotly contested ever since people started estimating and measuring the tallest living things.

In the pursuit of records tree heights have been exaggerated - tall tales, mythical and legendary stories emerge from the great forests. So what are the tallest trees on the planet? Although a Coast redwood is presently the tallest tree found to date, there is evidence that the coastal Douglas-fir has the biological capacity to surpass the redwoods in stratospheric height. Once trees reach the limit beyond which water can no longer be pumped to the top, the leader experiences 'drought stress' and dies off.

Upper height limit estimates for the species go as high as ft, and before logging began in the 19th and 20th centuries, plus foot trees were probably fairly common.