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)
