Fake Fir

Day 134: Western Washington clothes her shoulders in a garment trimmed largely with fake fir. Douglas Fir, icon of Pacific Northwestern forests, is not a true fir; true firs such as Grand and Noble bear cones which stand erect from their branches. Doug Fir cones hang down from their point of attachment. The scales of Doug Fir cones are also "persistent," i.e., they do not fall apart after releasing their seeds and remain attached to the central core. Ironically, the scientific name of Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga) means "false hemlock," undoubtedly reflecting the similiarity in the tree's needles, less spiky than those of true firs (genus Abies).