We here in Washington all recognize a Douglas Fir. But do we know who named that tree?? Reading a book on Perth, Scotland (hoping for ancestor information), p. 16-17 of “Perth & Kinross: The Big Country” by Jeremy Duncan, 1997, caught my eye. “The Douglas Fir was named after David Douglas who was born in Scone in 1799 and was the first to bring back to this country (Scotland) the seeds of that great tree.Well over 200 other plants wee introduced to European soil by Douglas including the Sitka spruce, the flowering currant…… and a host of others. He is commemorated by a tall memorial erected in 1841 in the grounds of Scone Old Church. A panel on the reverse lists some of the hundreds of plants he discovered.”
Surprise your friends with your newly-learned trivia info about our Washington state Douglas Fir!
Nice to know. thanks!
As an amateur botanist/professional Park Ranger, I learned the Latin names of many of our local plants. Many plants have a genus name followed by the species name: douglasii. Yup, he was quite the botanist!
I looked at the plaque and noticed several species names have changed. Not unusual as more research is done.