<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Green: Coast Douglas - fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var . menziesii) Blue: Rocky Mountain Douglas - fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var . glauca) </Td> </Tr> <P> Pseudotsuga menziesii, commonly known as Douglas fir or Douglas - fir, is an evergreen conifer species native to western North America . One variety, the coast Douglas fir, grows along the Pacific Ocean from central British Columbia south to central California . A second variety, the Rocky Mountain Douglas fir, grows in the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia south to Mexico . The tree is dominant in western Washington . It is extensively used for timber, worldwide . </P> <P> The common name honors David Douglas, a Scottish botanist and collector who first reported the extraordinary nature and potential of the species . The common name is misleading since it is not a true fir, i.e., not a member of the genus Abies . For this reason the name is often written as Douglas - fir (a name also used for the genus Pseudotsuga as a whole). </P> <P> The specific epithet, menziesii, is after Archibald Menzies, a Scottish physician and rival naturalist to David Douglas . Menzies first documented the tree on Vancouver Island in 1791 . Colloquially, the species is also known simply as Doug - fir or as Douglas pine (although the latter common name may also refer to Pinus douglasiana). </P>

Who is the douglas fir tree named after