Douglas fir cones:
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| Pseudotsuga menziesii. Always identifiable by the three-pronged bracts. |
I like Douglas fir: it's not a fir, nor, as some people call it, a spruce, but belongs in its own genus,
Pseudotsuga, meaning "false hemlock". And it's always easy to identify by its unique cones. The bracts are, according to legend, the feet and tail of tiny deer mice hiding underneath the scales.
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| These mice are long and skinny. (Older cones, really.) |
The cones are the only ones you will find in the Northwest with three-pointed bracts sticking out of the scales. Unlike the true firs, the cones hang down rather than standing up on the branch. Also unlike the true firs, the Douglas Fir drops its cones to the ground intact. (From Northwest Conifers)
PSEUDOTSUGA MENZIESII
ReplyDeleteThen if the scales
Are tangent words
Shielding a fibre core,
Then love breathes
Dragon-tongues of fire
Past the seeds.
Salmon Arm & Westbank, B.C., 9-10 July 1989
Love it!
DeleteBeautiful photos, Susannah. They do, indeed look like mice under the scales. And Fred, enjoyed your poem as well.
ReplyDeleteI had a visit from a mouse of a different kind. I did a stupid thing when we left the cabin two weeks ago. I must have gone out one door and then in the other. I left the first door open about an inch then left and locked the main door. A mouse came for a visit inside the cabin and left his calling cards everywhere. Lots of cleanup required but he must have gone back out on his own. Nothing caught in the trap fortunately. I hate to do that. - Margy
ReplyDelete