Douglas fir

American  

noun

1. a coniferous tree, Pseudotsuga menziesii, of western North America, often more than 200 feet (60 meters) high, having reddish-brown bark, flattened needles, and narrow, light-brown cones, and yielding a strong, durable timber: the state tree of Oregon.

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Douglas fir British  

noun

1. Also called: Oregon fir.   Oregon pine.  a North American pyramidal coniferous tree, Pseudotsuga menziesii, widely planted for ornament and for timber, having needle-like leaves and hanging cones: family Pinaceae

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Etymology

Origin of Douglas fir

1855–60; named after David Douglas (1798–1834), Scottish botanist and traveler in America

Example Sentences

At last, we found it: a sturdy Douglas fir with boughs that had pleasant symmetry and enough firmness to carry ornaments.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

The company’s forests in Oregon and Washington state are particularly valuable because they produce desirable wood from Douglas fir trees.

From Barron's • Dec. 5, 2025

Up close and personal, the musk of the odor dissipated, and I breathed in the grounding spice of the cedar and the energizing citrus notes of the Douglas fir.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2025

But one night this last December, against the cozy glow of my fake Douglas fir, I found myself acting completely out of character, sitting up to hurl insults at an advertisement on television.

From Salon • Jan. 8, 2025

He did see, at George Freeman’s place, a Douglas fir that had toppled over so that its root wad now stood twelve feet high beside George’s mailbox.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson