After witnessing the demise of dogwoods (Cornus nuttallii), the disappearance of countless cedars (Thuja plicata) and ongoing threat to arbutus (Arbutus menziesii) in my area of Vancouver Island and beyond, I figured that Douglas firs ((Pseudotsuga menziesii) would somehow be the invincible survivors. May not. Megadrought in Oregon: Fir trees died off in record numbers this year : NPR
Destroys: Douglas firs — mainly felled, damaged and drought-stressed, but also mature living trees Douglas-fir beetle - Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca)
As an aside, good to see gov.bc.ca hyphenating Douglas-fir correctly, against the trend of sloppy, poor quality editorial work ;-)
Perhaps Western Red Cedar (or Western Redcedar) ought to be hyphenated as well. We don't want to be 'sloppy' do we?
Yes, Ron, thanks for linking a very good website about Thuja plicata. Is there is any reference to why or why not the common name 'Western Red Cedar' should not be hyphenated in the same way as 'Douglas-fir'? Douglas-firs are not true fir trees; Western Redcedars are not true cedars. To tell the truth I care not one iota whether there are hyphens and am somewhat irritated that they should be such a big deal.
I already have. If you have reached some conclusions about how hyphenation rules apply to Douglas-fir and Western Red Cedar (or Western Redcedar) it would be interesting to know. Not that I really care, but there does seem to be a bit of a discrepancy why Douglas-fir should be so called and not Western-redcedar. This could be an example of 'over-thought decisions' versus 'decisions over thought'.
From Standardized Plant Names (introduction, page x): Whenever a common name properly belonging to one genus is used as a name for a plant of some other genus (unless rarely where very closely related) it is to be used only as part of a compound name, written either with a hyphen or solid. Thus Apple (Malus), Pineapple (Ananas), Pond-apple (Annona), and Star-apple (Chrysophyllum); not Pine Apple, Pond Apple, or Star Apple. Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii isn't a Fir Abies, so therefore, hyphenate (or alternatively, solid as Douglasfir); "Douglas Fir" Abies menziesii does not fit genetic data, so is wrong. Western Redcedar Thuja plicata isn't a Cedar Cedrus, so therefore, solid (or alternatively, hyphenate as Western Red-cedar); "Western Red Cedar" Cedrus plicata does not fit genetic data, so is wrong.
