There are two trees everyone living in the Vernon area should know: the Douglas fir and the ponderosa pine.

Why? Because they鈥檙e the major species of our North Okanagan forests and landscapes. And dead or alive, they鈥檙e important to our wildlife. T

he Douglas fir is economically valuable as the timber producing king of western North America. It鈥檚 also our typical, uncultivated, naturally fragrant Christmas tree. Do you have one?

You can often see it growing in a variety of forest types throughout B.C.

Here it grows from valley bottom up to Silver Star. Our mature Interior Douglas fir trees grow 20鈥�50 metres (70鈥�150 feet) tall. Its leaves are flat, soft, individual needles 2-4cm (~1 inch) long, that completely encircle the branches. New growth on the branch tips stands out brightly. As the trees grow they lose their lower branches.

The young trees鈥� bark is thin, smooth and grey with numerous resin blisters. On mature trees, usually exceeding 80 years, its thick and corky bark has distinctive vertical fissures caused by the growing tree鈥檚 gradual expansion. This thick bark makes the Douglas fir quite fire-resistant.

The female cones hang down with scales overlapping distinctive long, three-pointed bracts which resemble the back half of a mouse with two feet and a tail. Take a look at one.

It鈥檚 Latin name Pseudotsuga menziezii means 鈥渇alse hemlock鈥� in honour of Scottish naturalist-surgeon, Dr. Archibald Menzies, who accompanied Captain George Vancouver in 1791. Its common name honours another Scott, explorer-botanist, Sir David Douglas, from the 1890s. Our original native Okanagan people called it tsk鈥檌lhp鈥檚.

Its rare white crystalline sugar was eaten raw or mixed with black tree lichen or wild sunflower seeds. The wood made teepee/lean-to poles and spear shafts. The boughs made roofing, bedding and flooring material. Today our homes are mostly framed with fir lumber and plywood.

Squirrels, mice and birds love the Douglas fir seeds. Woodpeckers and other insectivores feast on spruce budworm, bark beetles and other insects attracted to these trees. Huge dead and dying Douglas fir snags make fabulous wildlife tree habitats providing food, shelter, storage and cavity nesting. They also make awesome lookout perches and nesting trees for hawks, eagles, owls and osprey.

In moist forests, downed Douglas firs become attractive nursing logs resembling fairytale woods for elves with mosses, lichens, mushrooms and tree sprouts. And you can often find large fir stumps in our forests; some with new trees growing up from them.

Now go outside and see if you can find a Douglas fir tree. Can you see the mice hiding under the scales? If you have a Douglas fir tree in your yard - enjoy it and take care of it. They attract birds, add to your property value and can live for a few hundred years.

Roseanne Van Ee enthusiastically shares her knowledge of the outdoors to help readers experience and enjoy nature. Follow her on Facebook.