Douglas Fir
How To ID Me And What I’m Good For?
My ID Features:
New growth and needles encircling the branch.
Cones
Mature bark
Young bark
Douglas Fir
Latin Name - Pseudotsuga Menziesii.
Common Names - Douglas Fir, Douglas Spruce, Oregon Pine, Columbian Pine.
Family - Pinaceae.
Season - All year (but spring and early summer for new growth tips).
Edible bits - Needles
Habitat - Practically anywhere. It's heavily planted in the UK for its use in the timber industry.
Possible Confusion - Other true Firs, Albies sp. Members of the conifer family are hard to discern differences. One should take extreme caution they do not consume toxic yew. As the young tips can look very similar in appearance. Studying a Douglas Fir with its cones still attached, will better help you to learn the key features of this tree.
Description - The best of all edible conifer trees in our opinion. The smell and taste is citrusy, orange & grapefruit. The new growth in spring and early summer is the most potent. Though this flavour can still be extracted throughout the year. From what I understand there are 5 subspecies of Douglas Fir in the UK.
Physical Characteristics…
Cones - The best way to learn about identifying D.Fir is to first learn about the cones. They are very distinctive with their bracts, as shown above. The cones point downwards towards the ground from the branch. The tips of the cones resemble a snakes tongue.
Needles - The leaves are flat and soft, dark green above with two white bands running along the underside. The needles spiral around the branch much like a bottle brush in appearance.
Bark - The bark when young is smooth and has resin blisters, which smell like that of the young needles. With aging these blisters disappear and it becomes much more conifer like in its appearance.
Medicinal Qualities - Douglas Fir needles are high in vitamin C, vitamin A, and antioxidants.
Harvesting Sustainability - Being such an abundant tree in the UK you’re unlikely to do any damage. Harvest a small amount from each tree.
Never munch on a hunch! Volf takes no responsibility for anything consumed.
Now For The Tasty Bit!
Here Are Our Delicious Recipes Using Douglas Fir….
