Douglas-fir

Douglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga ( /ˌsjuːdoʊˈtsuːɡə/) in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. The number of species has long been debated, but two in western North America and two to four in eastern Asia are commonly acknowledged. Nineteenth-century botanists had problems in classifying Douglas-firs, due to the species' similarity to various other conifers better known at the time; they have at times been classified in Pinus, Picea, Abies, Tsuga, and even Sequoia. Because of their distinctive cones, Douglas-firs were finally placed in the new genus Pseudotsuga (meaning "false hemlock") by the French botanist Carrière in 1867. The genus name has also been hyphenated as Pseudo-tsuga.