Participant Info

Species

Pseudotsuga menziesii [Pseudotsuga mucronata] [Pinus taxifolia var. glauca] [Pseudotsuga taxifolia]

Family

Pinaceae

CommonName

Douglas-fir

Presence

Yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1934

LatestDate

2020

Ecosystem

montane, subalpine

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, Culebras, NCristos

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache, Archuleta, San Juan

Passes

Cochetopa

WildlifePreserves

Coller, Great Sand Dunes, Rio Grande

Other Localities

La Botica

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Rio Grande Co, Middle San Francisco Creek trailhead 6 March 2020

Comments

In the montane, Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and white fir (Abies concolor) form the most common forest on both sides of the Valley, with Douglas-fir usually predominating. P. menziesii is present—to the gratification of the lumber industry—in all mountain ranges west of the Great Plains. It is present in the Rio Grande drainage all the way to the Big Bend country of Texas. Note that the common name, "Douglas-fir," should be hyphenated to indicate that the tree is not a true fir (belonging to the genus Abies). The genus epithet, Pseudotsuga, means "false hemlock."

Annotation