Could someone please ID this conifer that is common here in the West Kootenays. I think it might be an interior Douglas fir based on the little 'feathers' on the cone but am not sure. I thought fir cones stood upright and spruce cones hung down. It has only recently dawned on me that a Douglas fir is not a fir. A little slow, there. Thank you. By the way, stunning photos of the Wilson fir on Botany Photo of the Day.
What would be the different characteristics between Coastal Douglas Fir and Rocky Mountain Douglas Fir.
So therefore, correctly Douglas-fir, with a hyphen not a space Coast Douglas-fir is greener, with on average larger cones (mostly 5-11cm) usually with straight bracts, crushed foliage strongly aromatic, and faster-growing. Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir is greyer / bluer, with on average smaller cones (mostly 4-7cm) often (but not always) with recurved bracts, crushed foliage not or only weakly aromatic, and slower-growing. Once you get your eye in, the crown form also differs markedly, but it isn't too easy to describe. Johnny's tree is Coast Douglas-fir. Cones; subsp. menziesii (Coast; left) subsp. glauca (Rocky Mts; right)