Editing Pseudotsuga (section)

==Description==
Douglas-firs are medium-size to extremely large [[evergreen]] [[tree]]s, {{convert|20|-|120|m|-1}} tall (although only coast Douglas-firs reach such great height).<ref>{{cite book|title=Forest Giants of the World Past and Present|first=Al|last=Carder|year=1995|pages=3–4}}</ref> The [[leaf|leaves]] are flat, soft, linear, {{convert|2|-|4|cm|in|1}} long, generally resembling those of the firs, occurring singly rather than in [[fascicle (botany)|fascicle]]s; they completely encircle the branches, which can be useful in recognizing the species. The female [[Conifer cone|cones]] are pendulous, with persistent scales (unlike true firs), and are distinctive in having a long tridentine (three-pointed) [[bract]] that protrudes prominently above each scale (it resembles the back half of a mouse, with two feet and a tail).

{| style="float:left; margin-right:15px;"
|-
|[[Image:Pseudotsuga menziesii cone.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Coast Douglas-fir]] seed cone, from a tree grown from seed collected by [[David Douglas (botanist)|David Douglas]]]]
|}

[[Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii|''Pseudotsuga menziesii'' var. ''menziesii'']] has attained heights of 393 feet (120* m). That was the estimated height of the tallest conifer ever well-documented, the Mineral Tree ([[Mineral, Washington]]), measured in 1924 by Dr. Richard E. McArdle,<ref>Forest Giants of the World Past and Present by Al Carder 1995, pp. 3–4.</ref> former chief of the U.S. Forest Service.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/People/McArdle/McArdle.aspx |title=Richard McArdle Bio, USFS History, Forest History Society |publisher=Foresthistory.org |access-date=2011-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204015541/http://foresthistory.org/ASPNET/People/McArdle/McArdle.aspx |archive-date=4 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The volume of that tree was {{convert|515|m3|cuft|-1}}. The tallest living individual is the Brummitt (Doerner) Fir in [[Coos County, Oregon]], {{convert|99.4|m|ft|0}} tall.<ref name=GymnospermDatabase>[http://www.conifers.org/pi/Pseudotsuga_menziesii_menziesii.php Gymnosperm Database: ''Pseudotsuga menziesii'' var. ''menziesii'' (2006)]</ref> Only [[Sequoia sempervirens|coast redwood]]<ref name=Sequoia>{{cite web
|url        = http://www.conifers.org/cu/Sequoia.php
|title      = Sequoia sempervirens
|access-date = 2009-02-01
|work       = The Gymnosperm Database
}}</ref> and ''[[Eucalyptus regnans]]'' reach greater heights based on current knowledge of living trees: 379 and 331 feet (116 and 101* m), respectively.
At Quinault, Washington, is found a collection of the largest Douglas-firs in one area. Quinault Rain Forest hosts most of the top ten known largest Douglas-firs.

{{As of|2009}}, the largest known Douglas-firs in the world are, by volume:<ref name=" Van Pelt">{{cite book | last = Van Pelt | first = Robert | title = Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast | publisher = University of Washington Press | year = 2001 | page = [https://archive.org/details/forestgiantsofpa0000vanp/page/44 44] | isbn = 0-295-98140-7 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/forestgiantsofpa0000vanp/page/44 }}</ref>

# Red Creek Tree (Red Creek, SW British Columbia) {{convert|12320|cuft|m3}}
# Queets Fir (Queets River Valley-Olympic National Park) {{convert|11710|cuft|m3}}
# Tichipawa (Quinault Lake Rain Forest-Olympic National Park) {{convert|10870|cuft|m3}}
# Rex (Quinault Lake Rain Forest-Olympic National Park) {{convert|10200|cuft|m3}}
# Ol' Jed (Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park) {{convert|10040|cuft|m3}}
{{clear}}